Friday Closing Livestock Market Update - No Cash Cattle Trade has Developed Yet

GENERAL COMMENTS:

What a day it was. The Cattle on Feed report was extremely bullish with placements down 12%, and the fed cash cattle market has yet to trade any cattle as packers and feedlot managers go toe to toe. It will be interesting to pick up where this week left off on Monday. December corn is down 4 1/2 cents per bushel and December soybean meal is down $1.20. The Dow Jones Industrial Average is down 639.45 points and the NASDAQ is down 55.46 points.

From Friday-to-Friday livestock futures scored the following changes: October live cattle up $2.32, December live cattle up $2.78; October feeder cattle up $4.70, November feeder cattle up $6.23; December down hogs down $1.35, December corn down $0.18.

LIVE CATTLE:

Friday came and went and thankfully traders continued to support the live cattle contracts although no cash cattle trade has developed at the time of this writing. Thankfully the day's Cattle on Feed report was extremely bullish, but as I mentioned, no trade has developed yet in the cash sector. It's fully assumed that prices will trade at least steady this week, if not higher, but feedlot managers and packers have again gone toe-to-toe and so far no one has budged. Bids of $226 were offered throughout the day in Kanas, but no other bids were even noted. It's likely that we won't know until Monday's official USDA report comes out what happened over the week. But hats off to the feedlot managers that continue to hold the line, and push for stronger cash prices. October live cattle closed $0.12 higher at $229.87, December live cattle closed steady at $231.12 and February live cattle closed $0.10 lower at $233.35.

Friday's slaughter is estimated at 96,000 head -- 6,000 head less than a week ago and 16,000 head less than a year ago. Saturday's slaughter is projected to be around 20,000 head. The week's total slaughter is estimated to be 546,000 head -- 7,000 head less than a week ago and 27,000 head less than a year ago.

Boxed beef prices closed mixed: choice down $3.68 ($365.79) and select up $2.28 ($352.69) with a movement of 124 loads (95.47 loads of choice, 8.35 loads of select, 10.16 loads of trim and 10.18 loads of ground beef).

MONDAY'S CATTLE CALL: Steady. Before we can anticipate what next week's market may do, we need to see what this week's trade amounts to.

FEEDER CATTLE:

The feeder cattle complex ended the day higher -- believing that the Cattle on Feed report would be bullish, and grateful for the continued support of the live cattle contracts and traders. And thankfully, Friday's Cattle on Feed report was extremely bullish with placements being down 12% compared to a year ago. October feeders closed $2.22 higher at $348.32, November feeders closed $1.20 higher at $348.12 and January feeders closed $1.35 lower at $345.32. The Oklahoma Weekly Cattle Auction summary shared that compared to a week ago, feeder steers throughout the state traded $10.00 to $20.00 higher, expect those weighing 700 to 800 pounds which traded $4.00 to $8.00 higher. Feeder heifers were unevenly steady. Steer calves traded $25.00 to $30.00 higher. Heifer calves over 500 pounds sold $7.00 to $10.00 higher, and those under 500 pounds traded $15.00 to $20.00 higher. Feeder cattle supply over 600 pounds was 55%. The CME feeder cattle index 10/22/2026: up $1.52, $345.09.

LEAN HOGS:

The lean hog complex was able to maintain its modest rally through Friday's close, as traders lent the complex some light technical support ahead of the week's close. Pork cutout values still closed lower, and the long-term problem of pork demand will again carry into next week's trade. December lean hogs closed $0.02 higher at $65.57, February lean hogs closed $0.20 higher at $67.62 and April lean hogs closed $0.22 higher at $72.67. Pork cutouts totaled 304.26 loads with 276.43 loads of pork cuts and 27.83 loads of trim. Pork cutout values: down $1.14, $74.09. Hog prices closed higher on the Daily Direct Afternoon Hog Report, up $0.92 with a weighted average price of $67.40 on 2,573 head. Friday's slaughter is estimated at 462,000 head -- 10,000 head less than a week ago and 4,000 head more than a year ago. Saturday's slaughter is projected to be around 202,000 head. The CME lean hog index 10/21/2026: down $0.67, $72.15.

MONDAY'S HOG CALL: Lower. Packers rarely support the cash hog market much on Mondays. 

Friday Midday Livestock Market Summary - Traders Help Push Contracts Higher

GENERAL COMMENTS:

Thanks to ample trader support, the livestock complex is trading mostly higher into Friday's noon hour. Currently, a single bid of $226 live is being offered in Kansas, but no cash cattle trade has developed yet. Do remember that the Cattle on Feed report is set to be released this afternoon. December corn is down 4 1/4 cents per bushel and December soybean meal is down $0.10. The Dow Jones Industrial Average is down 516.14 points and the NASDAQ is up 36.99 points.

LIVE CATTLE:

Tick, tock, tick, tock -- the market continues to wait, seeming to let time pass ever so slowly as traders watch to see what's going to develop in this week's fed cash cattle market. Thankfully, traders still believe that the market will see fed cash cattle prices trade higher, but that trade hasn't developed as of yet. Bids are currently on the table in Kansas at $226, but otherwise, no bids have surfaced. Asking prices are noted at $232 in the Southern Plains and at $360 in Nebraska. There's a strong likelihood that the market doesn't see any trade develop until after this afternoon's Cattle on Feed report is released.

Boxed beef prices are lower: choice down $1.83 ($367.64) and select down $0.46 ($349.95) with a movement of 97 loads (79.71 loads of choice, 3.71 loads of select, 5.68 loads of trim and 7.65 loads of ground beef).

FEEDER CATTLE:

The feeder cattle complex is also trading higher as traders are thankful to see the live cattle complex trading higher. They fully believe that the fed cash cattle market will trade stronger this week too, and that Friday's Cattle on Feed report will be bullish as well. October feeders are up $2.45 at $348.55, November feeders are up $1.70 at $348.62 and January feeders are up $1.95 at $345.95. So long as the live cattle complex continues to trade higher through the afternoon, it's likely that the feeder cattle complex will too.

LEAN HOGS:

The lean hog complex has also found some minor trader support as its contracts are trading higher into Friday's afternoon. December lean hogs are up $0.10 at $65.65, February lean hogs are up $0.45 at $67.87 and April lean hogs are up $0.37 at $72.82. And while, yes, pork cutout values may be up slightly, it's more so the support from trades that's helping the market Friday, as a minor $0.78 rally late in the week doesn't do much for the overall picture of demand. The projected lean hog index for 10/22/2026 is down $0.99 at $71.16, and the actual index for 10/21/2026 is down $0.67 at $72.15. Hog prices on the Daily Direct Morning Hog Report are unavailable due to confidentiality. However, we can see that only 243 head have traded and that the market's five-day rolling average now sits at $67.34. Pork cutouts total 193.63 loads with 173.58 loads of pork cuts and 20.05 loads of trim. Pork cutout values: up $0.78, $76.01. 

Friday Morning Livestock Market Update - Red Meat Production Down 4%

GENERAL COMMENTS:

Live cattle futures were unchanged to 67.5 cents Thursday while feeder cattle futures fell $1.725 to $1.925. Most bulls have taken on their desired positions ahead of Friday's Cattle on Feed report while sellers are taking advantage of the higher prices. Thursday, USDA released its monthly Livestock Slaughter report. Commercial red meat production fell 4% year over year with the largest percentage drops in veal and beef production. Veal production totaled 1.7 million pounds, 13% below September 2025. Beef production totaled 2.04 billion pounds, which fell 6% year over year. Cattle slaughter totaled 2.30 million head, down 7% from September 2025. The average live weight was up 14 pounds at 1,447 pounds.

Lean hog futures fell again Thursday, declining 7.5 to 50 cents and making new contract lows. Pork cutout values were slightly higher Thursday, climbing 73 cents per cwt. NASS's Livestock Slaughter report has pork production at 2.27 billion pounds, down 3% from last September. Hog slaughter totaled 10.6 million head, down 3% year over year and the average live weight was up 1 pound at 287 pounds.

	BULL SIDE		BEAR SIDE
1)	Friday is the day for the Cattle on Feed report. Expectations are for lower placements and head on feed.	1)	Beef cutout values fell Thursday by $3.12 for choice and $4.93 for select. This is a fairly large drop for a single day.
2)	Beef production fell in September to 2.04 billion pounds, down 6% year over year.	2)	Packers purchased a large volume of cattle over the last two weeks and have time to be patient for the next purchase.
3)	Pork production fell in September to 2.27 billion pounds, down 3% from 2025.	3)	The Commitments of Traders report is expected to have grown the number of short positions for managed money in the lean hog futures contracts.
4)	Pork cutout values were slightly higher Thursday.	4)	Lean hog futures contracts have made new lows this week, and do not appear to have run out of sellers yet.

Thursday Closing Livestock Market Update - Weaker Tones Follow Contracts

GENERAL COMMENTS:

All in all it was a quiet, mundane day for the livestock complex as all three of the markets closed lower. More than anything traders want to see what's going to become of this week's fed cash cattle trade before they will likely support the cattle contracts any further. Do note that on Friday the monthly Cattle on Feed report is set to be released. December corn is down 2 3/4 cents per bushel and December soybean meal is down $1. The Dow Jones Industrial Average is up 11.89 points and the NASDAQ is down 694.00 points.

LIVE CATTLE:

Traders grew tired of being the main force behind the cattle complex's bullish surge and opted to let the contracts close mildly lower through Thursday's end. It's not that traders don't believe the complex should be trading at these levels, but rather instead that they want to see the market's fundamental prevail this week before the advance the contracts any further. October live cattle closed $0.67 lower at $229.75, December live cattle closed steady at $231.12 and February live cattle closed $0.37 lower at $233.45. Again today no cash cattle trade developed, but packers did offer up bids at $228 in Kansas -- but those sat idle as feedlot managers continue to wait the week out -- hoping to trade cattle even higher on Friday. Asking prices are noted at $232 in the South and at $360 in Nebraska. 

Thursday's slaughter is estimated at 103,000 head -- 1,000 head less than a week ago and 17,000 head less than a year ago.

Boxed beef prices closed lower: choice down $3.12 ($369.47) and select down $4.93 ($350.41) with a movement of 123 loads (77.71 loads of choice, 23.15 loads of select, zero loads of trim and 21.65 loads of ground beef).

FRIDAY'S CATTLE CALL: Higher. Given that feedlot managers are willing to take the gamble and bet that prices will be higher on Friday, I personally believe that they fully intend on advancing the market whether that be by $1 higher or $5.

FEEDER CATTLE:

And in keeping in perfect alignment with the live cattle complex, the feeder cattle contracts closed lower too. October feeder cattle closed $1.72 lower at $346.10, November feeder cattle closed $1.90 lower at $346.92 and January feeder cattle closed $1.82 lower at $344. Do remember that on Friday (tomorrow) the monthly Cattle on Feed report is set to be released -- and it's anticipated to be bullish with placements likely lower than a year ago. At Clovis Livestock Auction in Clovis, New Mexico compared to last week and at their midpoint session, steers calves weighing 300 to 500 pounds were traded $3.00 to $13.00 higher, and steer calves weighing 500 to 600 pounds were trading $15.00 to $17.00 lower. Heifer calves weighing 300 to 350 pounds and those weighing 400 to 450 pounds were trading $5 to $12 higher, while those weighing 450 to 600 pounds were trading $10 to $15 lower. Feeder cattle supply over 600 pounds was 38%. The CME feeder cattle index 10/21/2026: not available at this time.

LEAN HOGS:

And while yes, both midday and closing pork cutout values were higher, that wasn't enough support to mean much to traders given how weak demand has been over the last month. December lean hogs closed $0.17 lower at $65.55, February lean hogs closed $0.50 lower at $67.42 and April lean hogs closed $0.25 lower at $72.45. And until demand is stable and strong, a sideways chop will likely be the market's theme. Hog prices closed lower on the Daily Direct Afternoon Hog Report, down $1.22 with a weighted average price of $66.48 on 907 head. Pork cutouts totaled 300.43 loads with 268.83 loads of pork cuts and 31.60 loads of trim. Pork cutout values: up $0.73, $75.23. Thursday's slaughter is estimated at 497,000 head -- 1,000 head less than a week ago and 21,000 head more than a year ago. The CME lean hog index 10/20/2026: down $0.20, $72.82.

FRIDAY'S HOG CALL: Lower. At this point packers have secured the majority of their needs already for the week.