U.S. Cattle Report - Friday, May 30th

As of Friday, negotiated cash trade was light but met with strong demand in Nebraska and the Western Cornbelt. In Nebraska, live sales were mostly at $236.00, up $1.00 from Thursday, while the latest dressed trade remained at $365.00–$370.00. Trade in the Southern Plains was quiet. The most recent sales were on Thursday: Texas Panhandle live at $223.00, Kansas live at $222.00, and Western Cornbelt live at $230.00–$235.00, dressed at $371.00.

On Friday, August Live Cattle futures closed at $209.35, down $0.725 on the day. August Feeder Cattle also edged lower, settling at $298.825, a decline of $1.10 from Thursday’s close. July Corn futures dipped modestly, ending the session at $4.44, down $0.03.

As of May 27, 2025, managed money funds reduced their net long position in Live Cattle futures by 1,271 contracts, bringing the total to 131,293 contracts—marking the second consecutive weekly decline and a two-week drop of 4,301 contracts. Despite this reduction, total open interest in cattle futures increased by 13,432 contracts on the week to reach 565,843, its highest level of the year. Open interest has now increased for six straight weeks, with a cumulative gain of 128,023 contracts over that period. (Source: CFTC) 

On Friday afternoon, boxed beef prices continued their modest climb, with the Choice cutout value edging up $0.25 to $366.34, while the Select cutout rose sharply by $3.01 to $356.65. This pushed the Choice/Select spread down to $9.69—marking the first time it has fallen below $10 since March 7th. Load volume was light at 85 total loads. Primal values showed mixed movement: the rib slipped to $554.33, while the loin eased to $522.16, and the chuck and round edged higher. Over the past two days, the Choice cutout is up just $0.92 but has gained $4.79 since last Friday, highlighting a steady yet tempered advance heading into June.

For the week ending May 31, 2025, beef production totaled 414.8 million pounds, down 16.5% from the previous week and 9.4% below the same week a year ago. Cattle slaughter was reported at 477,000 head, a decrease of 16.3% from the prior week and 11.5% below year-ago levels. The average live weight of cattle was 1,425 pounds, down 5 pounds from the prior week, while the average dressed weight was 872 pounds, down 2 pounds from the week before but up 21 pounds from the same week last year. Year-to-date, beef production stands at 10.731 billion pounds, down 2.9% from 2024, with cattle slaughter at 12.3 million head, off 6.3% compared to the same period last year.

Rob Cook, NationalBeefWire.com