Falling feeder cattle prices, good pasture conditions, and tightening feedlot margins are working to reduce the number of feeder cattle entering feedlots. Feeder cattle receipts in June totaled 898,000 head, just 84 percent of June 2018 receipts and near the lowest in seven years. The CME Feeder Cattle Index is down 9 percent YTD and is 7 percent lower than this time last year. The lower prices are encouraging owners of feeder cattle outside of feedlots to retain ownership, rather than sell to feedlots. Additionally, feedlots’ recent trend of placing heavier cattle on feed is encouraging cow-calf and stocker operations to keep animals on pasture. While mother nature has punished farmers this year, cow-calf and stocker operations have...
What You Need to Know Today: Commodities were mostly lower across the board today after yesterday’s Federal Reserve meeting hinted at a potential interest rate hike later in 2026. The dollar index reached its highest level in over a year, and a strong dollar makes U.S. agricultural expor...
Tomorrow is the Juneteenth federal holiday, and the USDA, along with the rest of the federal government and the CME, will be closed, so the monthly Cattle on Feed report was released a day early. The total number of cattle on feed in feedlots with 1,000 head or more capacity on 1 June amounted...
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.