GENERAL COMMENTS:
The livestock complex is trading mixed into midday Wednesday as the market is trading cautiously in the cattle sector but has stumbled into some technical support in the hog complex. Still no cash cattle trade has developed. March corn is steady and March soybean meal is down $2.20. The Dow Jones Industrial Average is up 309.55 points and the NASDAQ is up 282.78 points.
LIVE CATTLE:
After rallying to highs not seen since October, the live cattle complex is now trading mostly lower as traders look for reassurance from the market's fundamentals. February live cattle are down $0.37 at $246.17, April live cattle are down $0.30 at $242.50 and June live cattle are down $0.05 at $238.40. The cash cattle market remains absolutely silent, with no bids or asking prices having been noted yet. It's most likely that trade will be delayed until Friday again this week, and it is assumed that fed cash cattle prices will be higher again this week.
Boxed beef prices are mixed: choice down $1.26 ($363.50) and select up $0.99 ($361.21) with a movement of 58 loads (43.87 loads of choice, 6.35 loads of select, zero loads of trim and 8.12 loads of ground beef).
FEEDER CATTLE:
The feeder cattle complex is trading slightly more optimistically into midday Wednesday than the live cattle complex, as its contracts are trading mixed. Helping keep the feeder cattle contracts elevated is the strong demand in the countryside, as buyers know that supplies are going to remain thin and that if they want to fill their orders, they have to buy aggressively. March feeders are down $0.20 at $370.77, April feeders are up $0.02 at $367.85 and May feeders are up $0.35 at $364.15.
LEAN HOGS:
The lean hog complex is trading fully higher into Wednesday's noon hour as the market is pleased to have found some technical support after its straining downturn over the last week. April lean hogs are up $0.20 at $92.50, June lean hogs are up $0.72 at $106.57 and July lean hogs are up $0.72 at $108.45. Fundamental support remains lagging, and traders will eventually desire to see more support in pork demand.
The projected lean hog index for 2/17/2026 is up $0.05 at $87.19 and the actual index for 2/16/2026 is up $0.08 at $87.13. Hog prices are again unavailable on the Daily Direct Morning Hog Report because of confidentiality. However, we can see that only 855 head have traded and that the market's five-day rolling average now sits at $87.00. Pork cutouts totaled 174.46 loads with 155.43 loads of pork cuts and 19.03 loads of trim. Pork cutout values: down $0.25, $95.63.
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