USA: Cattle market review for week 3 of January 22, 2024

Some regions from Nebraska to Michigan still have more than a foot of snow on the ground, leading to ongoing problems caring for livestock, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) said in a daily report. The department added that subzero temperatures will continue through the weekend in the northern half of the Plains and the upper Midwest.

Extreme cold tends to slow the weight gain of livestock because the feed the animals consume goes towards keeping them warm rather than growing.

MEAT processing has increased following recent weather disasters, USDA estimates. The USDA plans to release its monthly cattle feeding report , which analysts expect will show cattle placement in feedlots fell 4.6% in December compared with the previous year.

WEEKLY COST OF CUTTINGS CAT.CHOICE

CATTLE SALES

Sale of livestock, heads

Average weight

Week 2

Week 3

Weekly growth,%

Week 2

Week 3

Weekly growth,%

Bulls (live weight)

7,763

365

-95.3%

1,551

1,582

2.0%

Heifers (live weight)

3,588

0

1 393

0

Steers (slaughter weight)

6 443

128

-98.0%

963

945

-1.9%

Heifers (slaughter weight)

1,933

0

843

0

WEEKLY WEIGHTED AVERAGE PRICE OF CALLS

BEEF PRODUCTION

Index

Week 3

Previous week

A year ago

Weekly growth,%

Growth over the year, %

Slaughter volume

617,000

549,000

647,000

12.4%

-4.6%

Live weight

1 408

1 406

1 383

0.1%

1.8%

Slaughter weight

851

849

826

0.2%

3.0%

Beef production (million pounds)

523.8

465.2

533.6

12.6%

-1.8%

CME: Live Cattle Futures

Week 2

Week 3

Weekly growth,%

February

171.38

174.38

1.8%

April

174.18

177.38

1.8%

June

171.63

174.33

1.6%

Feeder cattle futures

January

226.58

230.10

1.6%

March

227.70

231.95

1.9%

April

233.00

237.48

1.9%

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.