GENERAL COMMENTS:
The livestock complex ended Tuesday mixed as the cattle contracts maintained their rally but the lean hog contracts fell lower. The most exciting news for the day was some early cash cattle sales were noted in Texas at $250, which is $4.00 higher than last week's weighted average. July corn is up 6 1/4 cents per bushel and July soybean meal is down $0.40. The Dow Jones Industrial Average is down 31.64 points and NASDAQ is down 223.30 points.
LIVE CATTLE:
There was talk and speculation the cash market may trade higher, but who would have thought there would be some early sales noted in Texas at $250 -- $4.00 higher than last week's weighted average. It's one thing to see higher trade, but to see a $4.00 advancement in the cash market on a Tuesday indicates packers are shorter bought than most realized and feedlot managers have more power in this week's game than they realized. June live cattle closed $4.55 higher at $253.50, August live cattle closed $3.72 higher at $249.10 and October live cattle closed $3.00 higher at $244.05. Since the early sales of $250 were noted in Texas, bids are up to as much as $252, indicating packers still clearly need more cattle. Asking prices remain elusive at this point.
Tuesday's slaughter is estimated at 109,000 head -- 2,000 head less than a week ago and 12,000 head less than a year ago.
Boxed beef prices closed mixed: choice down $0.66 ($388.90) and select up $0.18 ($388.78) with a movement of 98 loads (77.63 loads of choice, 7.66 loads of select, zero loads of trim and 12.72 loads of ground beef).
WEDNESDAY'S CATTLE CALL: Higher. With early sales marked as much as $4.00 higher it's tough telling what prices could advance to by the end of the week as clearly packers are short bought and need more cattle.
FEEDER CATTLE:
Thankfully, the feeder cattle contracts were also able to rally throughout Tuesday's trade as the market was not only grateful for the support from the live cattle contract's higher trend, but they were ecstatic to see the advancement in the cash market as more than anything the complex needs strong fundamental support. May feeders closed $4.27 higher at $371.72, August feeders closed $4.80 higher at $373.07 and September feeders closed $5.00 higher at $371.25. At Oklahoma National Stockyard in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, feeder cattle and steers traded mostly steady compared to last week. With the board trading higher the sale report noted demand was active and strong. Feeder cattle supply over 600 pounds was 75%. The CME Feeder Cattle Index 4/27/2026: up $0.28, $369.62.
LEAN HOGS:
Try as it might, the lean hog complex simply wasn't able to come up with enough fundamental support to pull the contracts higher. With pork cutout values down slightly, a lower day was really the only option for the complex as traders continue to long for stronger support from the market's fundamentals. June lean hogs closed $0.20 lower at $101.97, July lean hogs closed $0.60 lower at $104.42 and August lean hogs closed $0.77 lower at $104.82. Hog prices closed higher on the Daily Direct Afternoon Hog Report, up $2.32 with a weighted average price of $92.56 on 2,275 head. Pork cutouts totaled 340.00 loads with 312.52 loads of pork cuts and 27.48 loads of trim. Pork cutout values: down $0.97, $98.26. Tuesday's slaughter is estimated at 488,000 head -- 1,000 head less than a week ago and 1,000 head more than a year ago. The CME Lean Hog Index 4/24/2026: down $0.18, $91.26.
WEDNESDAY'S HOG CALL: Steady/somewhat higher. Packers were slightly more aggressive in Tuesday's market, but it's likely they'll still need more hogs and could be a tick more aggressive in Wednesday's cash market.
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