Friday Closing Livestock Market Update - No Cash Cattle Trade has Developed Yet

GENERAL COMMENTS:

What a day it was. The Cattle on Feed report was extremely bullish with placements down 12%, and the fed cash cattle market has yet to trade any cattle as packers and feedlot managers go toe to toe. It will be interesting to pick up where this week left off on Monday. December corn is down 4 1/2 cents per bushel and December soybean meal is down $1.20. The Dow Jones Industrial Average is down 639.45 points and the NASDAQ is down 55.46 points.

From Friday-to-Friday livestock futures scored the following changes: October live cattle up $2.32, December live cattle up $2.78; October feeder cattle up $4.70, November feeder cattle up $6.23; December down hogs down $1.35, December corn down $0.18.

LIVE CATTLE:

Friday came and went and thankfully traders continued to support the live cattle contracts although no cash cattle trade has developed at the time of this writing. Thankfully the day's Cattle on Feed report was extremely bullish, but as I mentioned, no trade has developed yet in the cash sector. It's fully assumed that prices will trade at least steady this week, if not higher, but feedlot managers and packers have again gone toe-to-toe and so far no one has budged. Bids of $226 were offered throughout the day in Kanas, but no other bids were even noted. It's likely that we won't know until Monday's official USDA report comes out what happened over the week. But hats off to the feedlot managers that continue to hold the line, and push for stronger cash prices. October live cattle closed $0.12 higher at $229.87, December live cattle closed steady at $231.12 and February live cattle closed $0.10 lower at $233.35.

Friday's slaughter is estimated at 96,000 head -- 6,000 head less than a week ago and 16,000 head less than a year ago. Saturday's slaughter is projected to be around 20,000 head. The week's total slaughter is estimated to be 546,000 head -- 7,000 head less than a week ago and 27,000 head less than a year ago.

Boxed beef prices closed mixed: choice down $3.68 ($365.79) and select up $2.28 ($352.69) with a movement of 124 loads (95.47 loads of choice, 8.35 loads of select, 10.16 loads of trim and 10.18 loads of ground beef).

MONDAY'S CATTLE CALL: Steady. Before we can anticipate what next week's market may do, we need to see what this week's trade amounts to.

FEEDER CATTLE:

The feeder cattle complex ended the day higher -- believing that the Cattle on Feed report would be bullish, and grateful for the continued support of the live cattle contracts and traders. And thankfully, Friday's Cattle on Feed report was extremely bullish with placements being down 12% compared to a year ago. October feeders closed $2.22 higher at $348.32, November feeders closed $1.20 higher at $348.12 and January feeders closed $1.35 lower at $345.32. The Oklahoma Weekly Cattle Auction summary shared that compared to a week ago, feeder steers throughout the state traded $10.00 to $20.00 higher, expect those weighing 700 to 800 pounds which traded $4.00 to $8.00 higher. Feeder heifers were unevenly steady. Steer calves traded $25.00 to $30.00 higher. Heifer calves over 500 pounds sold $7.00 to $10.00 higher, and those under 500 pounds traded $15.00 to $20.00 higher. Feeder cattle supply over 600 pounds was 55%. The CME feeder cattle index 10/22/2026: up $1.52, $345.09.

LEAN HOGS:

The lean hog complex was able to maintain its modest rally through Friday's close, as traders lent the complex some light technical support ahead of the week's close. Pork cutout values still closed lower, and the long-term problem of pork demand will again carry into next week's trade. December lean hogs closed $0.02 higher at $65.57, February lean hogs closed $0.20 higher at $67.62 and April lean hogs closed $0.22 higher at $72.67. Pork cutouts totaled 304.26 loads with 276.43 loads of pork cuts and 27.83 loads of trim. Pork cutout values: down $1.14, $74.09. Hog prices closed higher on the Daily Direct Afternoon Hog Report, up $0.92 with a weighted average price of $67.40 on 2,573 head. Friday's slaughter is estimated at 462,000 head -- 10,000 head less than a week ago and 4,000 head more than a year ago. Saturday's slaughter is projected to be around 202,000 head. The CME lean hog index 10/21/2026: down $0.67, $72.15.

MONDAY'S HOG CALL: Lower. Packers rarely support the cash hog market much on Mondays.