ShayLe Stewart

Charged and on fire about the bullish outlook for 2026, the cattle complex has taken an aggressive start to the New Year.

DTN Livestock Analyst ShayLe Stewart shares which Call the Market column was her favorite to write in 2025.

Charged and on fire about the bullish outlook for 2026, the cattle complex has taken an aggressive start to the New Year.

Sometimes we need to take time to fully write out our thoughts and think things through clearly. Other times, some simple nuggets of wisdom help shape sound thoughts and business decisions.

Sometimes we need to take time to fully write out our thoughts and think things through clearly. Other times, some simple nuggets of wisdom help shape sound thoughts and business decisions.

With this week being another holiday-shortened week for New Year's Day, it's likely that the cattle complex will trade in a lackadaisical holiday manner again this week.

More than anything, I believe traders' positive interaction throughout the marketplace on Monday again shows hard evidence their core desire is to push the contracts higher as they know and understand the market's long-term...

USDA's Dec. 1 Cattle on Feed report, which is scheduled for release at 2 p.m. CST on Friday, isn't expected to show anything out of the norm.

With cattlemen and traders alike looking forward to the holiday break between Christmas and the New Year, it's likely the cattle complex could remain quiet over the next two weeks.

With packers able to buy over 103,000 head in last week's fed cash cattle market, it's likely the recent rally the fed cash cattle market has seen will subside until after the New Year holiday.

Given that the futures complex is up against stiff resistance, the market could be hard-pressed to trade higher unless substantial fundamental support develops.

Even with Ag Secretary Rollin's positive remarks, traders still need to see fundamental support before they'll likely advance the contracts anymore.

I personally believe the reduction of throughput will only push the herd build-back that much further out as yet another level of confidence has been eroded from the market.

Since the cattle market hasn't received USDA's Cattle on Feed data in two months due to the government shutdown, traders will closely scan Friday's Nov. 1 report for any abnormalities.

The problem here isn't a matter of today; it's an issue that's going to cost producers exceptionally later down the road as feedlots won't need as many cattle in the future because they can increase tonnage on a per head basis...

Without strong support from boxed beef prices or the fed cash cattle market, the cattle complex could trade steady at best this week as traders yearn for stronger fundamental support.

The market may be more focused on external factors than what's bullishly developed over the last decade, but thus far, nothing has changed the market's promising fundamentals.

As long as beef demand remains strong as it's been, the board continues to show good faith, and no new unexpected headlines develop that could affect the cattle complex, the market may be slowly gaining some footing following the...

Should the markets really be driven by traders' reactions to news headlines as opposed to tangible fundamental developments? While the cattle complex has been losing money during the last seven...

USDA didn't release its Oct. 1 Cattle on Feed as originally scheduled on Oct. 24 due to the ongoing government shutdown. That means the industry will be watching closely for next month's report...

With much of the federal government still shut down, it's unknown whether USDA will release the Oct. 1 Cattle on Feed report as scheduled on Friday. Pre-report estimates show on-feed totals lingering close to a year ago but...

Here's why turmoil like what the cattle market saw on Friday is going to happen more often.

It's yet to be seen what the market will do this week; but with traders fully acknowledging the outlook for 2026 is strong, there's still plenty of upside potential.