On The Ground from the 2024 Commodity Classic | Weekly Livestock Market Update for 3/1/24
From Houston, Texas at the 2024 Commodity Classic, Brownfield Anchor/Reporter Meghan Grebner and University of Missouri Market Analyst Scott Brown give a weekly recap of the markets and discuss how it can impact farmers’ bottom lines.
Learn more about what's happening in the agriculture markets here: https://brownfieldagnews.com/markets/
Find more agriculture news here: https://brownfieldagnews.com/
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This week in the markets:
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Live fed cattle prices are $2.25 higher on the week, while feeder cattle prices were steady to $4.00 higher this week. April live cattle were up $0.45 on the week, and April feeder cattle were down $1.90 on the week. Choice box beef was $4.85 higher this week. Cash hogs are up $0.70 this week. April lean hog futures were up $0.90 on the week. Pork cutout values were marginally lower this week.
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Weekly slaughter:
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At the end of the week, cattle slaughter was 599,000 head, down 6,000 on the week and down 27,000 for the year. Hog slaughter was 2.549 million head, down 29,000 from the previous week and up 26,000 on the year.
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Cold storage:
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January 2024 cold storage stocks of beef were down 11.2% relative to one year ago at 475 million pounds. Pork ending stocks for January were down 9.8% at 468 million pounds. Bellies, hams, and loins were all lower relative to year-ago levels.
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Restaurant performance index:
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Lower same-store sales and customer traffic led to a 1.1% decline in the January 2024 restaurant performance index. Weakness has led to four months of the current situation index being in the contraction range. The weaker customer traffic trend may suggest consumers need to make choices to reduce spending as their budgets tighten.
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Quarterly trade report:
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USDA increased their FY2024 agricultural trade value by $1.0 billion relative to their November estimates. They also increased the value of imports for FY2024 by $1 billion, leaving net exports unchanged. The bright spot for the livestock industry was a $0.5 billion increase in pork export value relative to their November forecast.
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