GENERAL COMMENTS:
The livestock complex is trading mixed into Friday's noon hour as the cattle contracts dip slightly lower ahead of seeing this afternoon's Cattle on Feed report and upon not seeing any fed cash cattle trade yet. Bids are currently on the table live at $245, but no cattle have sold. March corn is up 2 1/4 cents per bushel and March soybean meal is up $6.90. The Dow Jones Industrial Average is down 110.11 points and NASDAQ is up 87.11 points.
LIVE CATTLE:
The live cattle complex is trading mildly lower as the market continues to wait for some fed cash cattle trade to develop. Bids are currently on the table in both regions, with live prices being offered in both the North and the South at $245, but no cattle have traded yet. And there's a chance that feedlot managers may hold out until after this afternoon's Cattle on Feed report is released before they sell any cattle. In the meantime, the live cattle contracts are trading slightly lower as traders try to remain patient, but there's yet to be anything substantially developed from a bullish fundamental perspective to help boost the futures market moral. February live cattle are down $0.10 at $247.40, April live cattle are up $0.75 at $242.65 and June live cattle are up $0.55 at $238.32.
Boxed beef prices are higher: choice up $1.50 ($366.67) and select up $1.26 ($361.05) with a movement of 65 loads (54.27 loads of choice, 2.46 loads of select, 4.79 loads of trim and 3.66 loads of ground beef).
FEEDER CATTLE:
Keeping in alignment with the live cattle complex, the feeder cattle contracts are also trading lower into Friday's noon hour. March feeders are down $0.75 at $369.47, April feeders are down $1.07 at $366.57 and May feeders are down $0.87 at $362.67. And unless the direction of the live cattle contract's change, it's unlikely that the feeder cattle contracts will find much more support ahead of the afternoon's close, even though demand is strong for calves and feeders and the Cattle on Feed report is expected to be bullish.
LEAN HOGS:
The lean hog contracts continue to scale higher as traders are not currently up against any immediate fears of resistance pressure. April lean hogs are up $0.45 at $93.90, June lean hogs are up $0.77 at $107.95 and July lean hogs are up $0.92 at $109.90. And yes, pork cutout values are still lower, but traders don't feel like they need an abundance of fundamental support given that they're not challenging technical resistance pressure right now.
The projected lean hog index for 2/19/2026 is up $0.36 at $87.95, and the actual index for 2/18/2026 is up $0.40 at $87.59. Hog prices on the Daily Direct Morning Hog Report average $88.96, ranging from $86.00 to $92.00 on 1,353 head and a five-day rolling average of $88.96. Pork cutouts total 181.28 loads with 163.70 loads of pork cuts and 17.59 loads of trim. Pork cutout values: down $0.39, $95.89.
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