Sort & Cull

With USDA set to release Cattle Inventory and Cattle on Feed reports Friday, the day will be busy, and next week's market could be in for some additional support if the reports print as expected.

If you have a relatively young cow herd, or if you can wait to buy females when bred cow prices get soft again, it seems nearly unfathomable to me to miss the opportunity to make hay while the sun is shining and forgo these strong feeder cattle prices.

Typically, we expect a glut of cattle to hit showlists during this time of year and, consequently, expect cash cattle prices to trail lower through the hot summer months. However, with feedlots extremely current and their showlists still somewhat green, they possess the ability...

The Cattle on Feed report should be used as a tool for evaluating the cattle complex and trying to discern its direction but, in Monday's market, traders inarguably valued the market's fundamentals more than the most recent report, as they see more tangible value in the...

With feeder calf prices skyrocketing, the markets may finally be offering a better return for stocking pastures with beef cattle than for planting cropland with grains.

Between the U.S. cowherd being culled to historically low levels because of prolonged drought and a lack of profitability, to the brutal storms this late winter/early spring that put a big dent in producers' calf crops, feeder-cattle prices are soaring as buyers fear they won't...

The feeder cattle market looks to the first big sale to set a tone for the fall market.

A technical look at two different price trends in the August contracts of live cattle and lean hogs.

On one hand, I'm thankful for the technology we have access to; on the other hand, I'd be lying to you if I said it didn't sometimes create more heartache for the market than necessary.

It's easy to look at any week that's trading higher and say, "That's a win!" But a $1 lower trade can still be a win when feedlots keep the market from trading $3.00 to $5.00 lower.

Over the last three weeks, the cash cattle market has traded lower, but if you remember the 2014 cash cattle market, you'll remember that prices bobbled through April, May and June before regaining footing and trading fully higher in July.

Over a 10-year span, packers spend roughly eight of those years perfecting their trade and learning how to keep the cash cattle market on a controllable, tight leash. Adversely, when feedlots are finally given the opportunity to demand higher prices, they don't control that...

Does it matter where the Cattle on Feed report's actual findings land or just how they vary from analyst estimates?

DTN Livestock Analyst ShayLe Stewart says why she's skeptical if anyone says they know exactly when the cash cattle market will make its spring high. Here's what she's watching.

So long as moisture continues to accumulate, and consumer demand remains strong, this bull run should have no problem continuing its upward trek.

A technical look at June live cattle and spot feeder prices.

We often view the grain markets as highly reactive to any weather changes, but the cattle contracts can be affected by weather developments, too.

Regardless of what the futures complex decides to do with the recent COF report, we know where the market's fundamentals sit; when it comes to buying and selling cattle, these fundamentals remain relevant.

While seeing seasonal shifts or adaptations in the market is important to note, we can't allow ourselves to only focus on one side of the market. Yes, boxed beef prices have ran into some seasonal pressure, but we simply don't possess the number of cattle that we had in past...

It's not farfetched to say bull spreaders are alive and well in the cattle complex and are continuing to encourage the cattle contracts to test their upper limits. But why the big push now?