GENERAL COMMENTS:
The livestock complex is trading mostly higher into Thursday's noon hour as the market is pleased to again have modest support from traders. No new cash cattle trade has been noted but bids are on the table in Kansas. December corn is down 2 1/4 cents per bushel and December soybean meal is down $1.60. The Dow Jones Industrial Average is up 198.50 points and NASDAQ is up 256.08 points.
Thursday's export report shared that beef net sales of 15,800 mt for 2025 were up 31% from the previous week and 21% from the prior 4-week average. The three largest buyers were South Korea (8,000 mt), Mexico (1,700 mt) and Indonesia (1,600 mt). Pork net sales of 22,000 mt for 2025 were up 27% from the previous week but down 14% from the prior 4-week average. The three largest buyers were Japan (6,600 mt), Mexico (6,200 mt) and China (3,000 mt).
LIVE CATTLE:
The back-and-forth nature of the live cattle market trade continues. Wednesday afternoon the market closed lower, but thus far throughout Thursday's trade the market has been trading slightly stronger. It is interesting to note gains in the nearby contracts are moderate, but the furthest deferred contracts are all trading more than $1.00 higher. A single bid of $239 live is currently being offered in Kansas, but otherwise the cash market is silent for the meantime. Asking prices are firm in the South at $240-plus, but are still not established in the North. Packer interest should improve at any moment now. October live cattle are up $0.87 at $231.97, December live cattle are up $1.27 at $233.95 and February live cattle are up $1.22 at $235.57.
Boxed beef prices are lower: choice down $1.73 ($386.45) and select down $2.16 ($364.21) with a movement of 58 loads (31.80 loads of choice, 12.39 loads of select, 5.96 loads of trim and 7.56 loads of ground beef).
FEEDER CATTLE:
And almost like clockwork, upon seeing the live cattle contracts trading stronger, the feeder cattle contracts are also trading higher into Thursday's noon hour. September feeders are up $3.45 at $358.47, October feeders are up $2.40 at $351.52 and November feeders are up $2.80 at $346.92. It's likely that so long as the live cattle contracts continue to trade higher and close higher, the feeder cattle complex will be able to maintain its stronger position as well.
LEAN HOGS:
The lean hog complex is trading moderately higher into Thursday's noon hour as traders continue to chop the contracts sideways but are pleased to see both cash prices and midday pork values slightly higher. Traders still seem unwilling to really push the market outside of its current trading range, but the slight uptick in fundamental support is helpful nonetheless. October lean hogs are up $0.45 at $97.77, December lean hogs are up $0.35 at $88.00 and February lean hogs are up $0.40 at $90.10.
The projected CME Lean Hog Index for 9/17/2025 is down $0.16 at $105.70 and the actual index for 9/16/2025 is down $0.14 at $105.86. Hog prices are higher on the Daily Direct Morning Hog Report, up $0.32 with a weighted average price of $106.57, ranging from $95.00 to $108.00 on 1,737 head and a five-day rolling average of $105.84. Pork cutouts total 206.43 loads with 178.15 loads of pork cuts and 28.28 loads of trim. Pork cutout values: up $1.06, $112.04.
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