Texas Daily Ag Market News Summary

Slaughter Cattle: Friday trade was mostly inactive on light to moderate demand in most feeding regions. Not enough purchase in any feeding region for an adequate market test. The latest established market in the Southern Plains was on Tuesday with live purchases at 126.00. On Wednesday in Nebraska, live purchases ranged from 125.00-126.50, bulk at 126.00. Dressed purchases traded from 200.00-203.00. In Colorado on Wednesday, a light test of live purchases traded at 126.00, with a few up to 126.50. On Wednesday in the Western Cornbelt, the bulk of live purchases traded from 126.000-128.00 with a few up to 130.00. Dressed purchases traded from 200.00-203.00.

Negotiated Sales: Confirmed: 4,266   Week Ago: 13,345   Year Ago: 20,328

Formula Purchases: Net - Dressed 
Head count priced today: 15,700 
Weighted avg weight:       849.00 
Weighted avg net price:   202.15

Alberta Beef Producers Daily Report: Alberta direct cattle sales Thursday saw light trade develop with dressed sales marked at 275.00 delivered. Initial sales are 1.00-3.00 lower than last week. Buyers were indicating cattle that they bought this week would be lifted in 2-3 weeks. Cash to futures basis levels did strengthen this week. Looking at the futures market both live and feeder cattle futures are seeing triple digit losses this morning.

Livestock Slaughter under Federal Inspection: 
                             Cattle      Calves   Hogs         Sheep 
Friday  (est            108,000     2,000       452,000        7,000 
Week ago (est)      107,000     2,000       450,000       9,000 
Year ago (act)       114,000     2,000        416,000       5,000 
Week to date (est) 581,000   10,000    2,291,000      40,000 
Last Week (est)     573,000   10,000    2,295,000      40,000 
Last Year (act)       580,000   10,000    2,191,000     38,000

Saturday  (est          26,000        0           118,000        2,000 
Week ago (est)        22,000        0            118,000       2,000 
Year ago (act)          34,000        0           132,000        1,000 
Week to date (est) 607,000    10,000    2,409,000     42,000 
Last Week (est)     595,000    10,000    2,413,000     42,000 
Last Year* (act)      613,000    10,000    2,323,000     39,000 
2018 YTD           7,155,000  123,000  28,507,000   449,000 
2017 *YTD          7,013,000  120,000  27,770,000   443,000 
Percent change         2.0%        2.4%        2.7%          1.5%

Boxed Beef: Boxed beef cutout values lower on light to moderate demand and moderate offerings. Select and Choice rib and round cuts steady to firm while loin cuts weak to lower. Choice chuck cuts lower while Select steady. Beef trimmings sharply higher on moderate to good demand and light offerings.

Cutout Values...            Choice        Select 
Current Cutout Values:    223.09         216.40 
Change from prior day:      -2.12           -1.62 
Choice/Select spread:         6.69

Futures Summary: 

April Live Cattle Futures: 116.05...-2.10

June Live Cattle Futures: 106.20...-2.20

August Live Cattle Futures: 104.95...-1.42

March Feeder Cattle Futures: 135.70...-1.82

April Feeder Cattle Futures: 136.10...-1.92

May Feeder Cattle Futures: 137.30...-1.22

CME Feeder Cattle Index: 137.98...-1.41

April Lean Hog Futures: 58.42...-2.90

National Grain Market Summary: Compared to last week, cash bids for wheat were mixed, sorghum, soybeans, and corn were lower.  Much of this weeks trade may have been focused on getting positions set before next weeks prospective planting reports are released.  Ethanol manufacturing for week ending March 16th was up 24,000 barrels per day compared to the previous week, putting the manufacturing total at 1.049 million barrels per day.  Ethanol stocks have dropped a little over 500,000 barrels and but remained strong at 23.76 million barrels.  USDA said last week's export shipments of wheat totaled 16.3 million bushels.  Corn export shipments totaled 55.5 million bushels, and soybean export shipments totaled 18 million bushels.  Export numbers for all three commodities failed to meet weekly average projections.  Wheat was mixed from 47.1/2 cents lower to 30 cents higher.   Corn was 7 3/4 to 11 cents lower.  Sorghum was 6 to19 cents lower.  Soybeans were 11 to 12 cents lower.

Kansas City Corn: 3.61...+0.01

Kansas City Soybeans: 9.86...-0.01

Kansas City Wheat: 4.69...+0.08

May Corn Futures: 3.7725...+0.0125

May Soybean Futures: 10.2825...-0.0150

May Wheat Futures: 4.6025...+0.0450

Nearby Crude Oil Futures Contract: 65.88...+1.58

Dow Jones Industrial Average: 23,532.27...-425.62

NASDAQ: 6,992.67...-174.01

U.S. Dollar Index: 89.43...-0.39

National Feeder & Stocker Cattle Summary 
RECEIPTS:       Auctions     Direct    Video/Internet    Total 
This Week        194,100     77,400        25,000         296,500 
Last Week        265,100     44,600          1,600         311,300 
Last Year          253,700    153,400         2,400         409,500

Compared to last week, steers and heifers sold 3.00-10.00 lower, except in the Southeast where feeder steers and heifers traded mostly 2.00-5.00 lower, with instances 7.00-10.00 lower. Demand was light to moderate for all weight classes. Receipts were lighter this week when compared to last week, perhaps a combination of seasonal trends and lower prices keeping producers away. The CME cattle futures opened the week in the red, posting triple digit losses, which continued through Wednesday. Once the dust finally settled, the front two months of live and feeder cattle contracts lost 3.00-4.00 from last Friday’s close. On Thursday the futures finally saw a slight recovery before hefty losses again on Friday. The discouraging news trickled down to major cattle markets early in the week, with Oklahoma City and Joplin Stockyards posting sharp losses. The rest of the auction barns across the country noticed and followed suit. Order buyers had to readjust their bids accordingly to ensure profitability. 

Feedlots are in no hurry to buy cattle as pen space is limited in the feed yards. There are concerns of a large number of market ready cattle in the next quarter, which has the industry looking bearish. Demand for calves has dwindled at the moment as cattle grazers have filled their orders. Nevertheless, demand for thin fleshed cattle suitable for summer grazing remains good and they are selling at a premium. Some steers worth mentioning this week out of Valentine, NE are two loads weighing 693 lbs ringing in at 174.75. A very good price as compared to the same cattle in other parts of the country. Once again, feedlot trade occurred midweek. On Tuesday in the Southern Plains, live cash trades were at 126.00, with a few live trades in Kansas on Thursday at 125.00. On Wednesday in Nebraska, live purchases ranged from 125.00-126.00, with the bulk at 126.00 and in the Western Corn-belt live cash purchases were from 126.00-128.00, with a few up to 130.00. Dressed trades in Nebraska and the Western Corn-belt on Wednesday were from 200.00-203.00. 

Spring is finally here and ranchers are itching to turn calves out on grass; yet, it might be another month until pastures turn green. Winter conditions are still lingering in the Northern Plains as some parts of the Dakotas saw snow accumulation Monday and Tuesday, forcing cattle raisers to continue to find other ways of feeding. More snow is expected Friday thru Saturday with Herreid, SD postponing their sale due to the impending storm. Additionally, cattle that are being marketed throughout local barns in the Dakotas are entering the ring in moderate to heavy flesh conditions. Drought conditions still loom throughout the Southern Plains and in the West with spotty storms providing relief in some areas. Western Oklahoma saw nearly an inch of rain this week, but precipitation levels remain well below normal. 

The Cold Storage report was released Thursday with total red meat supplies in freezers down slightly from the previous month but up 1 percent from last year. Total pounds of beef in the cooler was down 8 percent from last month and also from a year ago. Frozen pork supplies increased by 6 percent from the last report and 8 percent from last year. Stocks of pork bellies were up 6 percent from the previous month and up 188 percent from last year. Friday's Cattle on Feed data showed cattle on feed on March 1 was up 9 percent from a year ago; Placements up 7 percent and Marketings up 2 percent. Auction volume this week included 55 percent weighing over 600 lbs and 43 percent heifers.