GENERAL COMMENTS:
The livestock complex is moving higher into Thursday's noon hour thanks to increased trader support. A single bid of $220 is currently being offered in Nebraska; otherwise the market has yet to see any more trade develop. December corn is down 4 cents per bushel and December soybean meal is up $1.70. The Dow Jones Industrial Average is up 179.63 points and NASDAQ is up 371.48 points.
Thursday's export report shared that beef net sales of 9,200 mt for 2026 were down 1% from the previous week and 38% from the prior 4-week average. The three largest buyers were Japan (2,200 mt), South Korea (2,100 mt) and Taiwan (1,900 mt). Pork net sales of 38,700 mt for 2026 were up 42% from the previous week and 23% from the prior 4-week average. The three largest buyers were Mexico (22,700 mt), Japan (2,600 mt) and Colombia (2,200 mt).
LIVE CATTLE:
After trading lower earlier in the week, the live cattle complex has finally found some support from traders which is helping the contracts move higher into Thursday's noon hour. October live cattle are up $2.55 at $213.35, December live cattle are up $2.72 at $215.30 and February live cattle are up $2.95 at $217.02. Nothing has changed fundamentally to incentivize traders to be more supportive of the futures -- but rather they see an opportunity to mildly advance the contracts without any major technical pressure looming. The fed cash cattle market remains idle with only a single bid renewed at this point in Nebraska at $220. Otherwise, the market remains quiet, with no new trade developed. The only confident test we've seen on the market thus far has been in the North where dressed cattle are trading at mostly $345, which is $10.00 lower than last week's weighted average.
Boxed beef prices are lower: choice down $1.66 ($383.47) and select down $2.55 ($360.13) with a movement of 58 loads (42.45 loads of choice, 4.55 loads of select, 3.48 loads of trim and 7.63 loads of ground beef).
FEEDER CATTLE:
Keeping perfect alignment with the live cattle contracts, the feeder cattle contracts are also trading higher into Thursday's noon hour. August feeders are up $1.05 at $333.80, September feeders are up $4.35 at $323.35 and October feeders are up $4.85 at $319.05. So long as the live cattle contracts continue to trade higher, it's likely the feeder cattle contracts will keep this momentum through the day's close.
LEAN HOGS :
The lean hog complex is also seeing modest trader support as we approach Thursday's noon hour. October lean hogs are down $0.35 at $80.55, December lean hogs are up $0.20 at $71.17 and February lean hogs are up $0.17 at $73.90. Again, this is solely a technical decision as the market's fundamentals aren't immediately gratifying with midday pork cutout values lower and cash prices too. The projected CME Lean Hog Index for 8/26/2026 is down $0.28 at $92.14 and the actual index for 8/25/2026 is down $0.23 at $92.42. Hog prices are unavailable on the Daily Direct Morning Hog Report because of confidentiality. However, we can see only 2,715 head have traded and the market's five-day rolling average now sits at $91.57. Pork cutouts totaled 170.36 loads with 151.20 loads of pork cuts and 19.16 loads of trim. Pork cutout values: down $1.46, $94.09.
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