GENERAL COMMENTS:
The livestock complex ended the day mixed, with cattle contracts able to maintain their higher position through the day's end, and the nearby lean hog contracts pressured to trade lower. Some light cash cattle trade was noted throughout the day in the North at $345 to $348. December corn is up 1 1/2 cents per bushel and December soybean meal is down $3.60. The Dow Jones Industrial Average is up 20.51 points and the NASDAQ is up 10.54 points.
LIVE CATTLE:
The live cattle complex was able to maintain its slightly higher position through Thursday's end as traders continue to believe that the fed cash cattle market could lend some support late this week. Some light cash cattle trade was noted throughout the day in Nebraska at $345 to $348, which is mostly steady with last week's trading range, which was $345 to $350. But most of the cattle sold today were marked for delivery for the week of Oct. 11. Bids of $226 were offered throughout the day in Kansas and Texas, but no Southern trade was disclosed. October live cattle closed $0.62 higher at $219.30, December live cattle closed $0.47 higher at $223.17 and February live cattle closed $0.37 higher at $225.45.
Thursday's slaughter is estimated at 109,000 head -- 19,000 head more than a week ago and 3,000 head less than a year ago.
Boxed beef prices closed lower: choice down $6.00 ($376.79) and select down $7.70 ($352.89) with a movement of 117 loads (82.40 loads of choice, 12.90 loads of select, 6.19 loads of trim and 15.24 loads of ground beef).
FRIDAY'S CATTLE CALL: Steady to somewhat higher. Given that the North has been able to keep prices steady this week (where there's more market-ready cattle available), it's likely that the South will be able to do that as well, if not trade the market a tick higher.
FEEDER CATTLE:
With the added support of the live cattle market's stable and steady trend, the feeder cattle contracts were also able to round out the day higher. It is worth noting that the spot November feeder cattle contract did close above its 100-day moving average, which the contract hasn't done since early in July. October feeders closed $2.45 higher at $338.87, November feeders closed $2.05 higher at $336.35 and January feeders closed $2.02 higher at $329.70. At the Winter Livestock Auction in Pratt, Kansas, compared to last week, feeder steers weighing 800 to 975 pounds sold $3.00 to $10.00 higher, with places up to $17.00 higher. A lower trend was noted, however, on steers weighing less than 800 pounds. Not enough heifers were sold to find an accurate test. Feeder cattle supply over 600 pounds was 77%. The CME feeder cattle index 9/30/2026: up $0.94, $338.97.
LEAN HOGS:
The lean hog complex ended the day mixed, with its nearby contracts ending the day slightly lower while the deferred contracts closed higher. More than anything, the inconsistent support is likely what has the nearby contracts troubled at the time being. October lean hogs closed $1.22 lower at $77.50, December lean hogs closed $0.50 lower at $68.92 and February lean hogs closed $0.42 lower at $69.75. Hog prices closed lower on the Daily Direct Afternoon Hog Report, down $0.79 with a weighted average price of $76.93 on 614 head. Pork cutouts totaled 264.82 loads, with 233.13 loads of pork cuts and 31.70 loads of trim. Pork cutout values: up $0.34, $85.29. Thursday's slaughter is estimated at 493,000 head -- 4,000 head more than a week ago and steady with a year ago. The CME lean hog index 9/29/2026: up $0.01 to $80.95.
FRIDAY'S HOG CALL: Lower. It's most likely that packers have bought the vast majority of their cash needs out of the market already.
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