GENERAL COMMENTS:
The livestock complex is trading mixed into Thursday's noon hour as the market sees the lean hog contracts trading mostly higher, but the cattle contracts are again venturing lower. A few sales have been reported in the North at $365, which is $6.00 lower than last week's weighted average. December corn is up 1/4 cent per bushel and December soybean meal is down $2.50. The Dow Jones Industrial Average is down 68.75 points and the NASDAQ is down 77.14 points.
Thursday's export report shared that beef net sales of 8,400 mt for 2025 were down 47% from the previous week and 42% from the prior 4-week average. The three largest buyers were Japan (2,000 mt), Mexico (1,800 mt) and South Korea (1,300 mt). Pork net sales of 29,400 mt for 2025 were up 34% from the previous week and 12 percent from the prior 4-week average. The three largest buyers were Mexico (10,000 mt), South Korea (4,900 mt) and Japan (3,800 mt).
LIVE CATTLE:
The live cattle complex continues to battle anxiousness and seemingly growing concerns about the lower dip in the equity markets, which has put immense pressure today on the live cattle contracts. Unfortunately, the spot December contract is trading just below the market's 40-day moving average, and if the market does indeed close below that threshold, that could signal continued downward pressure. October live cattle are down $2.55 at $231.50, December live cattle are down $3.35 at $233.52 and February live cattle are down $3.22 at $235.75. Some light (very light) trade is currently being reported in Nebraska at $365, which is $6.00 lower than last week's weighted average. Making matters even worse is the fact that some of those cattle are committed for delivery on the weeks of October 6 and October 13. This indicates packers are aiming to build up their supply for the long term so that they can continue to work cash prices lower. Asking prices in the South are firm at $242 to $244 but are still not clearly established in the North.
Boxed beef prices are lower: choice down $3.83 ($373.56) and select down $2.71 ($353.71) with a movement of 107 loads (77.59 loads of choice, 17.09 loads of select, zero loads of trim and 12.35 loads of ground beef).
FEEDER CATTLE:
It's a day of hard knocks as the feeder cattle contracts once again follow in the live cattle market's wake, but are currently seeing losses far greater as most of the feeder cattle contracts are trading $7.00 lower into Thursday's noon hour. October feeders are down $7.57 at $352.05, November feeders are down $7.80 at $350.00 and January feeders are down $7.42 at $343.92. Thankfully, demand has been incredibly strong this week in feeder cattle sales across the country, but this dip in the futures complex could shake buyers a bit.
LEAN HOGS:
The cattle complex may be trading lower, but the lean hog contracts are mostly keeping their upward trend into Thursday's noon hour. October lean hogs are up $0.92 at $100.35, December lean hogs are up $1.22 at $89.35 and February lean hogs are up $0.85 at $90.47. It's likely that traders will continue to mildly support the contracts through the day's end, but won't likely pressure resistance thresholds until after seeing this afternoon's Quarterly Hogs and Pigs Report.
The projected lean hog index for 9/24/2025 is up $0.06 at $105.06, and the actual index for 9/23/2025 is up $0.10 at $105.00. Hog prices are lower on the Daily Direct Morning Hog Report, down $0.70 with a weighted average price of $104.02, ranging from $100.00 to $108.00 on 3,040 head and a five-day rolling average of $105.10. Pork cutouts totaled 142.50 loads with 111.83 loads of pork cuts and 30.68 loads of trim. Pork cutout values: up $0.78, $112.41.
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