Cattle are mixed to higher after some record cash trade in the North again hitting $200.
News that Tyson in Dakota City, Nebraska has stopped slaughter due to a gas leak may be capping the rally and causing some selling.
Brad Kooima of Kooima Kooima Varilek says, "$200 was paid here first by a regional and then by one of the major and they are going today, This is the time of the year when we’d be in the heart of our calf crop and we’ve got showlists in the North that are half or less than what they normally are and the cattle on the showlists aren’t very fat. Sounds like 2014 again right? Selling every thing with a tail head and a brisket,” he says.
He adds that cattle producers have leverage due to the tight supplies. “I’ve contented for a while that the cattle aren’t there,” he adds.
Futures continue to lag the cash trade like they did in 2014 says Kooima, as the market waits for the cash to top or falter but so far that hasn’t happened.
He thinks it is just a matter of time before the live cattle futures retest the record highs set back in September of 2023.
“I think it could be fairly soon,” he projects.
Packers have been trying to compensate through heavier carcass weights but some heat moving into feedlot areas may finally stall that.
Lean hog futures are mixed, still trying to bottom. “You have a chart that is showing some hope,” he says.
Kooima says they think the numbers are starting to tighten.
Grains are under pressure on profit taking after higher weekly closes.
However, the big factor is rains forecasted for the dry areas of the Eastern Corn Belt tied to the hurricane.
There may additionally be some USDA report positioning with higher quarterly stocks likely to be reconciled in the report.
