Sort & Cull

Winter and the Weeks Ahead

ShayLe Stewart
By  ShayLe Stewart , DTN Livestock Analyst
As we welcome the New Year and strong cattle prices, snow and winter weather could have an effect on producers. (Photo courtesy of Kate Roberts)

One more week and then it's smooth sailing into a normal trading week. Considering the market is where it is, the holiday run has been mostly undisruptive to the marketplace. The board has traded mostly sideways, sale barns were quiet for about two weeks, but the cash cattle market hasn't squandered any time. During the week of Thanksgiving, the cash market jumped $2 to $4, and during this past week of Christmas, the market rose $2 to $3 higher.

It's expected that in the initial first weeks of 2020 that prices will continue to keep their vigorous spirit with bolstering demand for beef and tight first quarter readily available fed cattle supplies. One thing that could affect the next couple of weeks' trade is the biting storm that has swept across Nebraska, parts of South Dakota, and was carried into parts of feeding country throughout the Midwest. Pictures from parts of Nebraska show snowdrifts as tall as the highest pipe on a corral fence. If you weren't hit by the storm, count your blessings and pray for those who were. Thankfully, the rest of the week is supposed to be normal temperatures with little to no precipitation. Heavy snow makes it tough for feedlots to get trucks in and out of their yards, and eventually fat cattle begin to carry mud as the snow works its way into the muck.

If you were tuned out last week for Christmas, get caught up on what took place in the cattle market last week with the latest Cattle Market News Video on the DTN/Progressive Farmer Facebook page. See it at: https://www.facebook.com/…

ShayLe Stewart can be reached at shayle.stewart@dtn.com

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