Market News

Midday livestock markets

Cattle country is expected to be quiet today with both sides busy taking inventory. Bids and asking prices have yet to be established. Last week’s trade was generally $4.00 lower in parts of the North, dressed sales ranged from 226.00 to 228.00, mostly 228.00. Southern business never really got started with some late day dressed sales in Kansas at 231.00.

Boxed beef cutout values are lower in the morning report. Choice beef is down .80 at 242.42, and select is .40 lower at 232.55.

Feeder cattle receipts at the Joplin, Missouri Regional stockyards on Monday totaled 5,000 head. Compared to last week, steers and heifers are steady to firm. Demand is moderate to good and the supply is moderate today. Feeder steers medium and large 1 weighing 500 to 600 pounds traded at 230.00t o 244.00 per hundredweight. 5 to 6 weight heifers brought 217.00 to 228.00.

Barrows and gilts in the Iowa/Minnesota direct trade are .24 lower at 71.88 weighted average on a carcass basis, the West is up .32 at 71.87, and nationally the market is down .52 at 70.86. Missouri direct base carcass meat price is 1.00 to 3.00 lower from 64.00 to 66.00. Midwest hogs on a live basis are steady with an instance of 1.00 to 2.00 lower from 45.00 to 58.00.

The pork carcass cutout value is 1.85 higher at 86.38.

For the week ending August 15, hog dressed weights averaged 209 pounds, unchanged from the previous week and 4 pounds less than year-ago. Over past six weeks hog dressed weights have averaged 209.7 pounds, 3.3 pounds lighter than the same six weeks in 2014, down 1.6%.

Last week’s hog slaughter totaled 2.214 million head, down 0.5% from last week, but up 11.4% from the same week last year. Hog slaughter has been up by more than 10% in all but one of the last 13 weeks.