Midday cash livestock markets

Direct cash cattle trade activity is quiet.  Bids and asking prices have yet to surface.  Showlists this week are mixed. Lower in Nebraska and Texas, but higher in Kansas.  Look for significant trade volume to hold out until midweek or later. 

Boxed beef was higher with solid demand for moderate offerings.  Choice was $2.57 higher at $365.31 and Select was $.58 higher at $354.31.  The Choice/Select spread is $11. 

At the Oklahoma National Stockyards, feeder steers and heifers were unevenly steady.  Steer calves were $10 to $20 higher with spots of $30 higher.  Heifer calves were $5 to $15 higher.  The USDA says quality was improved for steer and heifer calves and were met with good demand.  Receipts were up on the week, but down on the year.  Feeder supply included 55 percent steers with 49 percent of the offering weighing more than 600 pounds.  Medium and Large 1 feeder steers 600 to 639 pounds brought $380 to $415 and feeder steers 653 to 699 pounds brought $337 to $378.  Medium and Large 1 feeder heifers 501 to 541 pounds brought $340 to $385 and feeder heifers 650 to 680 pounds brought $315 to $337. 

Cash hogs are lower with large negotiated purchases.  The cash hog market has struggled to find significant support in recent weeks.  The are ongoing concerns about long-term demand strength for both global markets and domestically.  Supplies of market-ready hogs remain ample, which gives processors leverage and allows them to move needed numbers without having to bid up or get aggressive in their procurement efforts. Barrows and gilts at the National Daily Direct are $2.98 lower with a base range of $35 to $45 and a weighted average of $40.12; the Iowa/Minnesota and the Western Corn Belt had no comparisons, but weighted averages of $40.12.  Prices at the Eastern Corn Belt were not reported due to confidentiality. 

Butcher hog prices at the Midwest cash markets are steady at $46.  At Illinois, slaughter sows were steady with moderate demand for moderate offerings at $39 to $51.  Barrows and gilts were steady with moderate demand for moderate offerings at $32 to $40.  Boars ranged from $25 to $35 and $15 to $20. 

Pork values were lower, down $.97 at $69.84.  Loins, butts, and bellies were all down sharply.  Picnics, hams, and ribs were higher.