Tuesday Morning Livestock Market Update

GENERAL COMMENTS:

The cash cattle trade should remain in slow motion Tuesday with bids and asking prices remaining poorly defined. Yet much may depend on the ability of the board to stabilize. Another big drop in futures could force feedlot sellers to consider sharply lower cash bids. Live and feeder futures should open lower, pressured by follow-through selling and long liquidation.

Hog buyers are expected to resume work Tuesday with another round of higher bids. Such stronger spending is pretty much a no-brainer given the combination of tightening and decent packer margins. Lean futures seem staged to open higher with the help of residual buying, short-covering and bullish fundamentals.

	BULL SIDE		BEAR SIDE
1)	Thanks to significant strength in the select cutout on Monday, outstanding beef processing margins just got even better. Given such profit potential, cattle buyers should welcome a larger fed offering with open arms.	1)	New showlists circulated in feedlot country on Monday were generally larger than last week, especially in Kansas and Nebraska.
2)	Out-front boxed beef sales (i.e., with 22 days or more delivery) last week totaled nearly 1,000 loads, the biggest order of that type since late May.	2)	Cattle futures slumped further Monday with triple-digit losses. Serious technical damage with June through December live contracts closing below a lateral range has essentially been in place since late April.
3)	So far, we are hearing virtually no plans for a Saturday hog kill. Could this be another sign of tightening market hog supplies? If so, this week's slaughter could fall again to around 2.13 million head.	3)	Due to significant profits with the production sector, there is growing evidence that China's hog herd is expanding rapidly. Couple that with the threat of softening pork demand, U.S. exports to China could drop a good deal next year.
4)	After just a brief period of profit taking late last week, lean hog futures surged back into the passing lane Monday with spot July setting a new contract high.	4)	With the June 1 Hogs & Pigs report due out a week from Thursday (i.e., June 29), attempts to significantly extend the rally in lean hog futures will probably be checked by substantial commercial selling interest cautious in the face of uncertain expansion news.

OTHER MARKET SENSITIVE NEWS

CATTLE: (NYP Holdings) -- The world's largest meatpacker, Brazil-based JBS, is weighing plans to open its first retail stores in North America, The Post has learned.

JBS, which last month paid a $3.1 billion fine to Brazilian regulators over corruption allegations, is looking to open frozen-only meat stores and food trucks in the US, Mexico and Canada, according to a source close to the situation.

The meatpacker, which scooped up chicken giant Pilgrim's Pride in 2009, would open the stores to ensure consistent quality, be closer to shoppers and boost profitability, the source said. An internal team working at JBS' Miami area-offices is developing the designs and coming up with a name for the stores. One under consideration is "Cut 40," the source said.

The stores would be less than 2,000 square feet, and offer frozen — rather than fresh — cuts of beef, pork, lamb and seafood, as well as frozen vegetables and dessert.

JBS' plans are to "transform the way people shop for proteins," the source said, with a strategy that includes selling meats online and offering more food service directly to restaurants.

A JBS spokesman cautioned plans for a retail rollout haven't been finalized.

"One of our many R&D projects was a concept store, where we could gauge consumer interest … prior to offering these products to retail and food service customers," the spokesman said.

"However, the concept store remains in the development stage, has not been approved, and is not an immediate priority."

HOGS: (clintonnc.com) -- Roxanne Kirtright stood on the corner of Railroad Street and Southeast Boulevard holding a sign with the eyes of two hogs peeping through a cage. At the top it said "She wanted to live." "He wanted to live" is on the bottom.

As hog trucks and cars passed, four others joined her Monday morning during a demonstration held outside the Smithfield facility in Clinton. It's one of several to be held during the week through the North Carolina Farmed Animal Save (NCFAS), a nonprofit organization that is part of a worldwide group called The Save Movement, where affiliates hold demonstrations titled "The 5 Day Save" at slaughter facilities.

"Our mission is to bear witness to animals who are involved in animals agriculture and to share information to the public about what's going on," Kirtright said, referring to the slaughter of animals.

During the efforts, NCFAS members will raise money for five farm animal rescues and sanctuaries: Carolina Waterfowl Rescue, Cotton Branch Farm Animal Sanctuary, Triangle Chance for All, Trew Love Rescue & Sanctuary, and Ziggy's Refuge. Proceeds will be divided between the organizations. Members are raising awareness through its Facebook page, Twitter and website, www.ncsave.org

Kirtright said it was the organization's first time visiting the facility in Clinton. As cars stopped at the intersection, the group passed out information to motorist about the purpose of NCFAS, which also promotes vegan diet to end factory farming.

"Over a period of time, we want people to be comfortable with us being here," she said. "We're going to be back and we'll probably be here once a month after this."

Along with Sampson County, other scheduled stops, labeled by NCFAS as "vigils," include locations in Bladen, Duplin and Wayne counties. Some of the mentioned facilities were Butterball, Mt. Olive; House of Raeford, Rose Hill; and another Smithfield plan in Tar Heel. After visiting the factories, pictures are shared on social media outlets to persuade the public to steer away from animal consumption.

"They can make informed decisions when they go to the grocery store," Kirtright said. "What we'd like to see is them boycotting animal products because of the cruelties involved in the industry."

The members understand that a lot of people depend on the facility for income and are sensitive regarding the matter. But they believe more alternatives should be explored.

"A slaughterhouse is a very tough place," Kirtright said. "It's tough for workers and it's really tough on animals. They're killed in a group gas chamber here and it's a brutal way to die. We're just here to talk about that and help people consider that, maybe, there's another way of doing things."

Dee Spencer-Carr traveled from Augusta, Ga. to join the North Carolina branch of the organization. The Georgia resident advocates for the organization in her home state.

"I think people need to be informed about the suffering of how some of their food gets on their plate," Spencer-Carr said. "We try to do it peacefully as possible be educating them and bearing witness of animals before they go to the final slaughter. Compassion is not a crime."