GENERAL COMMENTS:
The livestock complex hasn't had much luck drawing any attention to its marketplace, and it's unlikely that the markets will trade much better throughout the remainder of the week given that it's the week of Christmas. The livestock complex always sees this type of lackadaisical behavior during the holidays, and it most likely won't get better until after the New Year. March corn is down 3 1/2 cents per bushel, and January soybean meal is up $6.20. The Dow Jones Industrial Average is down 622.12 points, and the NASDAQ is down 249.33 points.
LIVE CATTLE
With last week's negotiated trade only totaling a lousy 48,733 head, this week's market isn't expected to be much better. It's hard for feedlots to demand much more than steady prices when the market isn't running normal processing schedules when boxed beef prices are trending weaker and no one is engaged through the futures market. December live cattle are down $0.17 at $134.57, February live cattle are up $0.02 at $136.45 and April live cattle are steady at $140.52. The cash cattle market hasn't seen much interest develop, but it's likely that trade will develop earlier this week given that the markets are closed on Friday and packers will want to get their business done so they can head out for the week. Asking prices have yet to be shared, but it's looking like the South will generally ask $138 or better. Showlists appear to be larger in Texas and Kansas but lighter in Nebraska/Colorado.
Last week's negotiated cash cattle trade totaled 48,733 head. Of that, 62% (30,111 head) were committed for the nearby delivery, while the remaining 38% (18,622 head) were committed for the deferred delivery.
Boxed beef prices are mixed: choice down $0.82 ($262.19) and select up $2.81 ($251.09) with a movement of 51 loads (28.89 loads of choice, 10.76 loads of select, 7.41 loads of trim and 4.11 loads of ground beef).
FEEDER CATTLE
The feeder cattle contracts are trading in a doggish, "It's the week of Christmas" type of fashion. The market hasn't seen much interest as the market trades thinly throughout both the futures and cash markets. Some sale barns (very, very few) are having sales early this week, but by and large, most of the market has checked out for the holidays, and we won't see normal trade again until after the first of the year. With that being said, don't expect much out of the feeder cattle market, as the market doesn't have a living live cattle complex to lend it support, nor can it reply on rallying feeder cattle prices throughout the countryside when sale barns are quiet for the holidays. January feeders are down $0.97 at $159.27, March feeders are down $1.30 at $160.40, and April feeders are down $1.17 at $163.67.
LEAN HOGS
The lean hog complex hasn't seen much interest develop yet in Monday's trade, and truthfully, the market isn't expected to see much interest develop until after the first of the year and things go back to normal. The hog complex will have a few more hurdles to jump through once the New Year rolls around, as the market will see the effects of Prop 12 take place. The product that used to be distributed into California will have to find a new market, and this could easily oversaturate the market. February lean hogs are down $1.27 at $79.52, April lean hogs are down $0.95 at $83.82, and June lean hogs are down $0.65 at $95.37.
The projected lean hog index for 12/17/2021 is up $0.57 at $72.90, and the actual index for 12/16/2021 is down $0.08 at $72.33. Hog prices are lower on the National Direct Morning Hog Report, down $1.34 with a weighted average of $58.28, ranging from $58 to $60 on 3,370 head and a five-day rolling average of $58.98. Pork cutouts total 217.28 loads with 194.92 loads of pork cuts and 22.36 loads of trim. Pork cutout values: up $1.02, $86.84.
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