GENERAL COMMENTS:
The livestock complex closed mixed, with the cattle contracts seeing mixed support from traders, but the lean hog contracts were able to close fully higher. Still no trade has developed in the fed cash cattle market. March corn is up 3/4 cent per bushel and March soybean meal is down $1.90. The Dow Jones Industrial Average is up 129.47 points and the NASDAQ is up 175.25 points.
LIVE CATTLE:
Following Tuesday's wild rally, the live cattle complex had a less enthusiastic day throughout Wednesday's trade as the market closed mixed. More than anything, traders simply didn't seem to feel comfortable boldly advancing the complex without seeing additional fundamental support develop first. February live cattle closed $0.05 higher at $246.60, April live cattle closed $0.27 lower at $242.52 and June live cattle closed $0.02 lower at $238.42. No trade has surfaced yet in the fed cash cattle market, and trade is likely to be delayed until Friday again this week.
Wednesday's slaughter is estimated at 113,000 head, 3,000 head less than a week ago and 4,000 head less than a year ago.
Boxed beef prices closed mixed: choice down $0.96 ($363.80) and select up $0.41 ($360.63) with a movement of 111 loads (79.49 loads of choice, 9.16 loads of select, 12.00 loads of trim and 9.96 loads of ground beef).
THURSDAY'S CATTLE CALL: Higher. With fed cash cattle supplies thin, it's assumed that prices will trend higher again this week.
FEEDER CATTLE:
The feeder cattle complex rounded out the day mostly higher, seeming to look to the strong demand in the countryside for calves and feeders, and not get discouraged by the lower trend in some of the live cattle contracts. March feeders closed $0.40 lower at $370.57, April feeders closed $0.17 higher at $368.00 and May feeders closed $0.42 higher at $364.22. At the Joplin Regional Stockyards in Carthage, Missouri, compared to last week, feeder steers under 800 pounds sold $5.00 to $20.00 higher. And yearling steers over 800 pounds sold $10.00 lower to $3.00 higher. Feeder heifers sold unevenly, ranging from $15.00 lower to $20.00 higher across most weights. Feeder cattle supply over 600 pounds was 68%. The CME feeder cattle index 2/17/2026: down $0.05, $376.02.
LEAN HOGS:
Although the market didn't see an uptick in pork demand, traders continued to advance the lean hog complex as they're no longer technically pressured by the market's resistance threshold following the severe sell-off over the past week. April lean hogs closed $0.25 higher at $92.55, June lean hogs closed $0.75 higher at $106.60 and July lean hogs closed $0.77 higher at $108.50. And although traders would ideally like to see the continued support of strong pork demand, they're technically in a position where they can trade the market higher without coming up against any resistance pressure, which is why they were able to advance the market again today. Hog prices closed higher on the Daily Direct Afternoon Hog Report, up $0.11 with a weighted average price of $88.34 on 8,246 head. Pork cutouts totaled 260.34 loads with 230.32 loads of pork cuts and 30.02 loads of trim. Pork cutout values: down $0.32, $95.56. Wednesday's slaughter is estimated at 488,000 head, 1,000 head more than a week ago and 7,000 head more than a year ago. The CME lean hog index 2/16/2026: up $0.07, $87.13.
THURSDAY'S HOG CALL: Lower. With packers having bought moderately over the last two days, they'll likely be less aggressive in the market on Thursday.
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