Hog futures close narrowly mixed - CME

Jul 08, 2024

Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) live cattle futures closed higher for a second session on Wednesday, supported by strong wholesale beef prices and light technical trading ahead of the US July Fourth holiday, Reuters reported, traders said.

US markets and government offices will be closed on Thursday for the holiday, with futures trade resuming on Friday.

The CME August live cattle contract settled up 0.825 cent at 185.925 cents per pound.

CME feeder cattle futures also advanced, with the August contract reaching a one-month top as corn futures sagged, signalling cheaper feed costs. August feeders finished up 2.275 cents at 263.375 cents per pound after rising to 263.900 cents, the contract's highest since May 30.

Wholesale boxed beef prices cooled on Wednesday but hovered near the highest levels in a year, defying a seasonal slide that typically occurs in early summer, after retailers finish booking meat supplies for the Fathers Day and July Fourth holidays.

The choice boxed beef cutout price dipped by 70 cents on Wednesday afternoon to $329.69 per hundredweight (cwt), according to data from the US Department of Agriculture. Tuesday's peak of $330.39 was the highest since late June of 2023.

"The rally into the Fourth of July has been impressive," said Matt Wiegand, commodity broker for FuturesOne in Nebraska.

Cash cattle trade remained quiet ahead of the holiday but expectations of firm cash prices this week helped support live cattle futures. Feedlots in Texas and Kansas were offering cattle for $192 per cwt while packers in Kansas were bidding $186 to $188, traders said.

Cargill expected to resume slaughtering cattle on Friday at its Dodge City, Kansas, beef plant, after weekend rains caused a partial roof collapse, the company said on Tuesday.

CME hog futures closed narrowly mixed, anchored by softening wholesale pork prices and ample hog supplies.

Benchmark CME August lean hog futures settled up 0.050 cent at 89.825 cents per pound while October ended down 0.100 cent at 74.125 cents.

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T.K. Cheung Lecture in Animal Science: "Using science to assess and improve the welfare of dairy cattle"

Dan Weary is a Professor at the University of British Columbia. Dan did his BSc and MSc at McGill and Doctorate at Oxford before co-founding UBC’s Animal Welfare Program where he now co-directs this active research group. His research focuses on understanding the perspectives of animals and applying these insights to develop methods of assessing animal welfare and improving the lives of animals. His work has helped drive changes in practices (including the adoption of higher milk rations for calves and pain management for disbudding) and housing methods (including the adoption of social housing for pre-weaned calves). He also studies cow comfort and lameness, social interactions among cows, and interactions between cows, human handlers and technologies like automated millking systems that are increasingly used on farms. His presentation will outline key questions in cattle welfare, highlight recent UBC research addressing them, and showcase innovative methods for improving the lives of cattle and their caretakers.