Sort & Cull

Over time, it's not a matter of what's factual or true, what an asset is truly worth or what's it's perceived to be worth, but it's what we feed ourselves mentally that eventually becomes true. And that's why last week's success of trading cash cattle for $130 is such a...

What we may breeze over if not careful is the fact that last week's weighted average of $126.29 posts as a new high for cash cattle trade this year, and that the last time the market successfully traded fat cattle for an average of $125 was back in April of 2019.

DTN's weekly technical analysis of the livestock markets shows feeder cattle generally seem to be making a more concerted effort to the downside.

Every now and then, events cause traders to lose a sense of value. This fall, that has happened in soybean meal.

The Foreign Adversary Risk Management (FARM) Act would include the Secretary of Agriculture on the special government committee that approves foreign investment and ownership of businesses for national security. Issues with CFIUS have come up in the past as lawmakers have...

U.S. Ag Secretary Tom Vilsack spoke to the White House press corps last week about some of the actions USDA is doing to invest funds into smaller packing plants and address antitrust enforcement in the packing industry. He also talked about the need for legislation to make...

Hogs that will hit the market right when California's Prop 12 goes into effect on Jan. 1, 2022, were already born back in February and are just now being placed in finishing barns. Without clarity about how the state's law will affect the nation's supply chain, producers haven't...

Whether or not the market will actually see advancement remains unknown as packers have figured out another way to avoid supporting the cash cattle market and allowing feedlots to chase true price discovery.

With packers sitting on supplies for at least a month out, someone must ask "when will packers need cattle?" and "when will the cash cattle market be able to demand higher prices again?"

On a typical holiday week, such as during the week of Christmas or Thanksgiving, the market doesn't expect to see many cattle trade. But on a usual week, the market fully anticipates seeing anywhere from 70,000 to 120,000 head of cash cattle trade. Last week's movement only...

The market hasn't only deteriorated in the sense that prices are lower for cow-calf producers and feedlots, but also in the sense that the market is losing its voice, its leverage and has even questioned its own trajectory.

While I'm thankful last week's cyberattack was quickly dealt with, I'm also here to tell you that the cost of wasted time and missed opportunities is high.

It seems like government officials, industry leaders and the nation's largest cattlemen associations are finally hearing the pleas from the countryside.

While we focus on the matter at hand (fed cattle and feeder cattle prices), we cannot forget to keep close tabs on the nation's cows and monitor their herd trajectory.

High corn prices aren't necessarily a bad thing, but when high corn prices are stacked next to historically low live cattle prices, that's when the real crisis surfaces.

Regardless of what corn prices did last week, what they'll do this week or what they could do in the weeks to come, every market connoisseur will tell you, "the cure for high prices is high prices."

Packers only buy cattle with time when they know that supplies are going to be short, or when they know that the cash cattle market could rally. In the current market's scenario, both are true and both favor feedlots' positions, which cause packers angst.

The biggest takeaway from the rally that's currently developing is that it could be sustained for a period of time, and the market is already seeing how it's supporting the entire cattle market, not just one side of the marketplace.

Moving into this upcoming week's trade, and even looking ahead at the weeks to come, cattlemen need to remind themselves that the market ebbs and flows over time. Take full advantage of what the market has to offer. Don't sit on the sidelines when a rally is begging to...

Looking at last week's total negotiated trade and knowing that this week's showlists have fewer cattle on them throughout the major feeding states, there is some opportunity that awaits this week's business.