USA: Cattle market review for week 24 of 2023

The USDA estimated that beef rose $1.02 to $343.09, the highest since August 2021. The Fourth of July holiday is the last big grilling holiday until Labor Day in September.

Higher beef prices are making it difficult for MEAT processors to “persuade the market to lower the price,” said Altin Kalo of Steiner Consulting Group. “So far, the feedlots have been successful and getting paid for their cattle,” Calo said.

Profit margins for meat processors rose Friday to $166.65 per HEAD of cattle , up from $145.85 Thursday and $130.85 a week ago, according to livestock marketing consultancy HedgersEdge .

CME feeder cattle futures also rose Friday, shrugging off pressure from rising corn prices that typically signal higher feed costs. The August contract rose 0.800 cents to 234.925 cents per pound.

Feeder cattle supplies are tight as rains across the U.S. plains have boosted pasture growth and allowed cattle producers to reduce their feedlot numbers, analysts said.

WEEKLY COST OF CUTTINGS CAT.CHOICE

CATTLE SALES

Sale of livestock, heads

Average weight

Week 23

Week 24

Weekly growth,%

Week 23

Week 24

Weekly growth,%

Bulls (live weight)

42 401

9 618

-77.3%

1 419

1 461

3.0%

Heifers (live weight)

11 453

2,572

-77.5%

1 283

1 324

3.2%

Steers (slaughter weight)

13,774

8,538

-38.0%

917

929

1.3%

Heifers (slaughter weight)

2,021

3,028

49.8%

818

836

2.2%

WEEKLY WEIGHTED AVERAGE PRICE OF CALLS

BEEF PRODUCTION

Index

Week 24

Week 23

Week 24 2022

Weekly growth,%

Growth over the year, %

Slaughter volume

634,000

621,000

668,000

2.1%

-5.1%

Live weight

1 350

1 350

1 339

0.0%

0.8%

Slaughter weight

815

815

808

0.0%

0.9%

Beef production (million pounds)

515.7

505.0

539.3

2.1%

-4.4%

CME: Live Cattle Futures

Week 23

Week 24

Weekly growth,%

June

179.08

178.35

-0.4%

August

173.20

171.73

-0.8%

October

176.47

175.35

-0.6%

Feeder cattle futures

August

239.05

234.93

-1.7%

September

242.08

238.18

-1.6%

October

244.13

240.30

-1.6%

You can find out more about the state of the cattle market in the usa ( livestock prices , the cost of beef by category, production dynamics) in the weekly reviews of the meat market in RUSSIA and in the world from Meatinfo.ru. Weekly reviews are available for free as part of a subscription to monthly meat analytics Russian markets.