U.S. CATTLE REPORT: Just when you thought it couldn't go higher; Cash trade at $200-5; Boxed beef highest in 18 months; 113 steers (728#) from Burwell, NE at $320.05 (best 7-wt sale in NE history)
US Cattle Report by National Beef Wire
CLARA: Friday's cash cattle trade was light with moderate demand in the Southern Plains, with Texas and Kansas reporting a few live FOB sales at $200.00–$201.00. Nebraska held steady at $203.00 live FOB, and the Western Cornbelt's last reported trades were $200.00–$205.00 live and $320.00 dressed.
CLARA (Cattle Livestock Analytics and Reporting AI)
LIVESTOCK COMMENTS: It is simply hard to fathom from a historical perspective the magnitude of cattle prices. Twelve years ago, there was tremendous resistance for the Choice boxed beef cutout price to eclipse $200 per hundredweight and now finished cattle prices are blowing the doors off the price mark
NBW Market Commmentary
USDA GRAIN STOCKS REPORT: Corn stored in all positions on December 1, 2024 totaled 12.1 billion bushels, down 1 percent from December 1, 2023. Of the total stocks, 7.66 billion bushels are stored on farms, down 2 percent from a year earlier
Market Update
LIVESTOCK, DAIRY & POULTRY OUTLOOK (WASDE): For 2025, the beef forecast is raised on an increase in steer and heifer slaughter due to higher placements expected during the fourth quarter of 2024, as well as higher dressed weights
WASDE
CLARA: Cattle slaughter for the week was estimated at 589,000 head, a 16.4% increase from the prior week's 506,000 head and up 8.1% from 545,000 head during the same week last year.
CLARA (Cattle Livestock Analytics and Reporting AI)
CLARA: Weekly beef production for the week ending January 11, 2025, was estimated at 512.1 million pounds, up 16.6% from 439.1 million pounds the previous week and up 12.5% from 455.4 million pounds during the same week last year
CLARA (Cattle Livestock Analytics and Reporting AI)
U.S. EXPORT SALES: Beef sales 5,600 MT for 2025 marketing year, which began January 1, were primarily for Mexico (2,400 MT, including decreases of 2,800 MT), South Korea (1,300 MT, including decreases of 200 MT)
Market Update
COARSE GRAIN OUTLOOK (WASDE): Corn production is estimated at 14.9 billion bushels, down 276 million as a 3.8-bushel per acre cut in yield to 179.3 bushels is partially offset by a 0.2-million acre increase in harvested area
WASDE
CLARA: Corn futures closed higher on Friday, with March 2025 settling at $4.70 ½, up 14.5 cents. The 2024 U.S. corn yield was reported at 179.3 bpa, down 3.8 bpa from November, cutting production by 276 million bushels to 14.867 billion bushels. Tighter supplies lowered December 1 stocks to 12.074 billion bushels and reduced WASDE ending stocks to 1.54 billion bushels, raising the average cash price by 15 cents to $4.25
CLARA (Cattle Livestock Analytics and Reporting AI)
CLARA: Hats off to Burwell Livestock (Burwell, NE)! Burwell set the market on fire Friday with an outstanding sale of 113 steers (728 lbs) at $320.05. This was the highest price for 7 weights on Friday, the 5th highest 7-weight sale in U.S. history, and the highest ever recorded in Nebraska. Even more impressive, it stands as the highest price ever paid nationally for a 7-weight string of 100 head or more
CLARA (Cattle Livestock Analytics and Reporting AI)
Boxed Beef PM: Choice: $332.84 (+2.06); Select: $314.14 (+5.79); Ch/Se Spread: 18.70; Total Loads: 128 compared to 116 on Thursday
Cattle Prices
CATTLE WEIGHTS Live cattle weights averaged 1,435 pounds, up slightly from 1,433 pounds last week and notably higher than 1,396 pounds during the same week in 2024
US Cattle Report by National Beef Wire
CME LIVESTOCK: Live Cattle: $199.475 (+1.20); Feeder Cattle: $269.40 (+1.10); Hogs: $88.675 (+1.325) (VIEW COMMODITY QUOTES)
US Cattle Report by National Beef Wire
CME GRAINS: Corn: $4.705 (+0.145); Wheat: $5.3075 (-0.0325); Soybeans: $10.2525 (+0.2625); Soybean Meal: $298.30 (-1.00) (VIEW COMMODITY QUOTES)
National Corn Wire
ENERGY PRICES: Crude Oil: $76.64 (+2.72); Ethanol: $1.685 (+0.06); Natural Gas: $3.984 (+0.281) (Crude Rallies as the US Expands Sanctions on Russian Oil)
Market Update
STOCK UPDATE (WEDNESDAY CLOSE): Dow 30: 41,936.54 (-698.66); Nasdaq: 19,180.66 (-298.22); S&P 500: 5,829.18 (-89.07) (Stocks Sharply Lower as a Strong US Jobs Report Signals Fed Pause)
Market Update
SATURDAY SALES: Lake Cumberland, Blue Grass Campbellsville, Blue Grass Flemingsburg, Fort Scott, Cattlemen's, Jones Brothers, Eugene, WNC... (WATCH LIVE)
CLARA (Cattle Livestock Analytics and Reporting AI)
Boxed Beef AM: Choice: $333.12 (+2.34); Select: $313.57 (+5.22); Ch/Se Spread: 19.55; Total Loads: 68
US Cattle Report by National Beef Wire
Short-Range Weather Forecast: Critical fire-weather concerns will continue across the Los Angeles Basin and southern California through the morning. Santa Ana winds will begin to tapper off midday Friday and into Saturday. A significant winter storm will continue to bring heavy snow and disruptive ice across much of the South
Weather