GENERAL COMMENTS:
It ended up being a positive day for the entire livestock complex as the cattle contracts and lean hog contracts all closed higher. The fed cash cattle market remains a wild card still at the time of this writing, just a handful of cattle have traded in the North. December corn is up 8 cents per bushel and December soybean meal is down $0.50. The Dow Jones Industrial Average is up 34.86 points and NASDAQ is down 87.69 points.
From Friday to Friday, livestock futures scored the following changes: August live cattle up $3.70, October live cattle up $4.68; August feeder cattle up $6.75, September feeder cattle up $6.98; October lean hogs down $0.57, December lean hogs down $0.75; September corn up $0.01, December corn unchanged.
Note: Ag Secretary Brooke Rollins New World screwworm (NWS) update was a five-step plan to better protect the U.S. from NWS. Her plan did not unveil any updates regarding opening the border, so the announcement should have little effect on the cattle complex.
LIVE CATTLE:
Friday ended up being a fruitful day for the live cattle complex as traders pushed the market to a new high for the week -- still below the all-time high scored last week -- but higher for the week, nonetheless. But what may be the biggest trump card of the week is found in the fed cash cattle market. At the time of this writing, no live sales have been reported in the South, and it's looking like the week's movement could remain that way as feedlot managers aren't budging. Which is deserving of some time and reflection as just four to five years ago, feedlot managers would have never dreamt of sitting on their showlists and telling packers to pay up or move along because they weren't going to budge on their price. Now obviously the mechanics of supply and demand have changed, but those feedlot managers who are holding packer's feet to the fire deserve a well-earned round of applause. What they are accomplishing in this fed cash cattle market is truly amazing.
There was a handful of cattle traded earlier this week in the North at mainly $385, which is $4.00 higher than the previous week's weighted average. Again, no Southern live cattle have traded at the time of this writing. Asking prices are firm at $237 in the South and $386 in the North, and bids are currently on the table in Texas at $233. October live cattle closed $3.82 higher at $230.65, December live cattle closed $3.77 higher at $232.17 and February live cattle closed $3.55 higher at $232.80.
Friday's slaughter is estimated at 82,000 head -- 6,000 head less than a week ago and 36,000 head less than a year ago. Saturday's slaughter is projected to be around 2,000 head. The week's total slaughter is estimated at 530,000 head -- 6,000 head less than the previous week and 75,000 head less than a year ago.
Boxed beef prices closed higher: choice up $6.78 ($400.57) and select up $3.88 ($370.76) with a movement of 104 loads (78.11 loads of choice, 15.01 loads of select, 3.58 loads of trim and 7.60 loads of ground beef).
MONDAY'S CATTLE CALL: Steady. You can't call next week's market until we know what pans out with this week's trade.
FEEDER CATTLE:
The feeder cattle complex followed right alongside the live cattle market's trend throughout the day as traders were more willing to support the cattle sector thanks to the added boxed beef demand and the bullishness of feedlot managers. September feeders closed $6.32 higher at $347.35, October feeders closed $5.45 higher at $345.90 and November feeders closed $4.85 higher at $343.47. The Oklahoma Weekly Cattle Auction Summary shared that compared to last week, feeder steers over 800 pounds sold $4.00 to $6.00 higher, but those under 800 pounds traded $10.00 to $15.00 higher. Feeder heifers over 800 pounds sold steady, but those under 800 pounds traded $2.00 to $8.00 higher. Steer calves sold $13.00 to $14.00 higher, and heifer calves sold $5.00 to $10.00 stronger. Slaughter cows traded steady to $2.00 higher and slaughter bulls sold steady. The CME feeder cattle index 8/14/2025: down $0.26, $345.75.
LEAN HOGS:
The lean hog complex was able to round the week off on a higher note too, as traders finally found some technical support and the market was also pleased to see late week uptick in pork demand. October lean hogs closed $0.97 higher at $90.10, December lean hogs closed $1.40 higher at $83.02 and February lean hogs closed $1.40 higher at $85.62. This afternoon, the carcass price success was mainly because of the $4.60 jump in the loin, and the $4.18 jump in the rib. Hog prices closed lower on the Daily Direct Afternoon Hog Report, down $2.49 with a weighted average price of $107.88 on 1,859 head. Pork cutouts totaled 403.26 loads with 375.84 loads of pork cuts and 27.42 loads of trim. Pork cutout values: up $1.22, $116.40.
Friday's slaughter is estimated at 469,000 head -- 1,000 head less than a week ago and 6,000 head less than a year ago. Saturday's slaughter is projected to be around 35,000 head. The CME lean hog index 8/13/2025: up $0.05, $109.83.
MONDAY'S HOG CALL: Steady. Given that pork demand is seeing a slight increase, packers could be modestly active in Monday's market.
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