Cattle slaughter was 665,000 head last week, much closer to where it needs to be to move through the supply of cattle. As of today, week-to-date, slaughter was 1,000 head more than last week. But there’s a surfeit of cattle due to bottlenecks carrying over from last year and drought conditions pushing cattle off of pasture. Paradoxically, cattle slaughter through May was 6 percent above the five-year average, but it has not been enough to boost fed cattle prices. That will ultimately take a change in the inventory of market ready fed cattle inventories. Beef cow slaughter has been nearly 1.4 million head through May, the largest since 2010. Coupled with heifer slaughter, cattle inventories dropped to their record low in 2...
Key Takeaways: The CME Group is launching new 90 percent Lean Beef and 50 percent Lean Beef futures and options contracts in July. There are five key factors that must be present in physical markets and futures contract specifications for futures contracts to become successful. The two l...
What You Need to Know Today: The hot, dry weather forecast continues to drive strength in grain futures with corn and soybeans hitting another day of strong gains. Monday’s Crop Progress and Conditions data were in line with market expectations and showed relatively few concerns for the...
From WPI Consulting
Weighing in on strategic realignment
WPI’s team was retained by the governing board of a U.S. industry organization to review a decision, reached by vote, to invest significant assets into the development and management of an export trading company. WPI’s team conducted a formal review of this decision and concluded that the current level of market saturation would limit the benefits of the investment. Based on WPI’s analysis and recommended actions, the board subsequently reversed its decision and undertook a strategic planning effort to identify more impactful investments. On behalf of numerous clients, WPI has not only assisted in identifying strategic paths but also advised their implementation.