News

More volatility ahead in the livestock markets

A livestock economist says the USDA’s latest supply and demand report indicates there is a lot of volatility left in cattle and hog markets.

University of Missouri livestock economist Scott Brown says producers will need to keep an eye on input costs.  “The USDA raised its corn price by $.10 and soybean meal prices by $20/ton,” he says.  “We’ve seen a pretty good march up on corn futures prices the last couple of weeks.”

And despite increasing the amount of US beef and pork in that same report, the USDA did raise livestock prices for cattle and hogs.

Brown says that might seem like it flies in the face of the S and U numbers.  “But, I think, is what USDA is saying demand tends to be stronger compared to where we were a month ago as we look ahead.”

Brown says if the opportunity presents itself, producers may want to lock-in inputs at lower prices when they can to help manage some of their risk.

Add Comment

Your email address will not be published.


 

Stay Up to Date

Subscribe for our newsletter today and receive relevant news straight to your inbox!