Cattle prices have decreased over $5 this week | Weekly Livestock Market Update
In this episode of the Weekly Livestock Market Update, Kellan Heavican and Kenny Burdine discuss the recent trends in the cattle and hog markets, including price fluctuations, slaughter rates, and the impact of interest rates on the livestock industry. They analyze the factors influencing the beef and pork supply dynamics and provide insights into risk management strategies for producers.
Market highlights
-The 5-market average fed steer price was down a little over $5 this week at $232.48 per cwt.
-October live cattle futures were down $1.77 on the week, closing today at $231.80 per cwt.
-Today’s Choice boxed beef price was reported price was $371.43, which is down by about $18 per cwt from last week, but running over $70 per cwt higher than last year.
-October feeder cattle futures gained almost $3 from last Friday, closing today at $357.05.
-The national base hog carcass price was essentially unchanged on the week at $99.97 per cwt.
-Pork cutout values were $2.31 higher this week at $114.58 per cwt.
-October lean hog futures were up a little over a dollar, closing today at $101.15 per cwt.
Weekly Slaughter
-Cattle slaughter for the week was projected at 555,000 head, which is up about 1% from last week.
-Hog slaughter was 1% lower this week, estimated at 2.54 million head.
September Hogs and Pigs
-Inventory of all hogs and pigs came in lower than expected, estimated down 1.3% from last year.
-September 1 breeding inventory was estimated down by 1.8% and market inventory was estimated to be down by 1.3%
Cold Storage
-At the end of August, frozen beef supplies were down 1% from the end of July but up 2% from 2024.
-Frozen pork supplies were tighter, down 3% from July and down 13% from 2024.
-Chicken stocks were down 2% from last month but were actually 4% higher than last year.
Livestock Slaughter
-Cattle slaughter for the month of August was estimated at 2.29 million head, which was down almost 14% from August of 2024 (one less weekday in 2025).
-For January through August, cattle slaughter is down 6.9% year-over-year.
-Steer slaughter was down 5.1% through August, while heifer slaughter was down 5.9%
-Cow slaughter was down 12.7% YTD through August. Beef cow slaughter is down 18.4% YTD and dairy cow slaughter was down about 6.8%.
-Calf and veal slaughter continues to run very low.
-Hog slaughter was down 7.1% month-over-month from last year (one less weekday in 2025)
-Through the first 8 months of the year, hog slaughter is down 2.4% from 2024.
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