Cattle futures were mixed but mostly higher Tuesday, supported by recently firmer wholesale beef prices stemming from slower packer production.
Recently firm and higher wholesale beef prices, as packers slow production, helped Cattle futures mostly extend gains Monday.
Heading into the close, Live Cattle futures closed an average of an average of 26¢ higher, except for an average of 3¢ lower in three contracts. Feeder Cattle futures were an average of 40¢ higher, except for an average of 6¢ lower in two contracts.
Negotiated cash fed cattle trade ranged from mostly inactive on very light demand to a standstill through Tuesday afternoon, according to the Agricultural Marketing Service.
Last week, FOB live prices were $183/cwt. in the Southern Plains and $184-$185 in the north. Dressed delivered prices were $290-$292 in Nebraska and $290 in the western Corn Belt on a light test.
Choice boxed beef cutout value was 8¢ higher Tuesday afternoon at $301.89/cwt. Select was 92¢ lower at $286.87.
Grain and soybean futures closed mixed Tuesday.
Toward the close and through Sep ’25 contracts, Corn futures were fractionally lower to 1¢ lower. Kansas City Wheat futures were 3¢ to 6¢ lower. Soybean futures were 3¢ to 4¢ higher.
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`Major U.S. financial continued higher Tuesday.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed 83 points higher. The S&P 500 closed 14 points higher. The NASDAQ was up 100 points.
Through mid-afternoon, West Texas Intermediate Crude Oil futures on the CME were 33¢ to 63¢ lower through the front six contracts.
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Lower commodity prices and higher input costs continue weighing on rural economies, according to the latest Creighton University Rural Main Street Index, which represents a monthly survey of bank CEOs in rural areas of a 10-state region dependent on agriculture and/or energy.
Across the region, bankers expect approximately 39.1% of farmers to experience negative 2024 farm income.
The region’s overall reading for September sank for the 13th consecutive month to 37.5 in September from 40.9 in August. It was the lowest reading since the beginning of the pandemic in spring 2020. The index ranges between 0 and 100, with a reading of 50.0 that represents growth neutral.
Ernie Goss, the Jack A. MacAllister Chair in Regional Economics at Creighton University’s Heider College of Business says weaker agricultural equipment sales also weighed on the overall index.
The farm equipment sales index for September increased to 19.0 from 16.7 but remained below growth neutral for the 14th consecutive month.
“Higher borrowing costs, tighter credit conditions and negative farm income are having a negative impact on the purchases of farm equipment,” Goss explains.
The region’s farmland price index remained below growth neutral for the fourth consecutive month. It declined to 43.8 in September from 45.5 in August. On average, bank CEOs expect farmland prices to decline by 5.3% in the next 12 months.
“Of greater concern, approximately one-fourth of bankers anticipate a 10% to 20% downturn in farmland prices over the next year,” Goss says.