Livestock
24Nov

October Calves, Feeders 3% to 5% Higher

Feeder cattle and calves continued their fall rally during October, gaining 3% to 5% at auctions. The gains followed similar improvement in September, leaving prices at the beginning of November nearly 9% higher for both calves and yearlings than the August averages. Calf prices in the Drovers auction summary averaged $174.65 per cwt at the end of October, up $9.69, while yearlings averaged $150.80, up $6.14 per cwt. Beef's economic indicators made an abrupt turnaround during October due to higher cattle prices...

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21Nov

Cattle Groups Glad to Continue ELD Conversation

  Two national cattle industry groups are supporting the Department of Transportation's (DOT) decision to delay implementation of electronic logging devices (ELD) for livestock haulers. The United States Cattlemen’s Association (USCA) and the National Cattlemen's Beef Association (NCBA) both believe continuing discussions on how ELDs will impact hours of service for cattle transport is important. On Nov. 20, DOT's Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) announced a 90-day waiver period would be allowed for agriculture commodity transport starting Dec. 18, 2017. The 90-day...

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21Nov

TPP-11 Agreement Heightens Concerns about Market Access

The 11 remaining members of the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP)* recently announced plans to move forward with a modified trade agreement. U.S. Meat Exporter Federation (USMEF) Economist Erin Borror explains that if the agreement, now known as the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP), is implemented without the United States as a participant, it will create significant tariff rate advantages for competitors of U.S. beef and pork. The U.S. has free trade agreements in place with several CPTPP countries, but...

By Grains, Livestock
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21Nov

Profit Tracker: Margins Decline $28 Per Head

Body: Cash fed cattle prices declined more than $4 per cwt. last week, fueling a $28 per head decline in cattle feeding margins. The cost of feeder cattle calculated against last week's marketings declined $3 per cwt., softening the hit from weaker fed cattle prices, according to the Sterling Beef Profit Tracker. Beef packer margins improved an average of $5 per head to $93. The beef cutout declined $3 per cwt. to $206.53. The Beef and Pork Profit Trackers are calculated by...

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21Nov

Profit Tracker: Margins Decline $28 Per Head

Body: Cash fed cattle prices declined more than $4 per cwt. last week, fueling a $28 per head decline in cattle feeding margins. The cost of feeder cattle calculated against last week's marketings declined $3 per cwt., softening the hit from weaker fed cattle prices, according to the Sterling Beef Profit Tracker. Beef packer margins improved an average of $5 per head to $93. The beef cutout declined $3 per cwt. to $206.53. The Beef and Pork Profit Trackers are calculated by...

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