Cattle market slaughtered After making an
all-time high early Monday morning, cattle prices reversed sharply lower
as cattlemen began bringing cattle to the market to capture record high
prices. Meanwhile, traders cashed in on huge profits, after riding the
market higher for months. As prices dropped, ranchers and traders seemed
to succumb to herd behavior, with aggressive selling leading to even
more selling. During the week, prices fell so fast that the
Chicago Mercantile Exchange’s limits were triggered multiple times,
which prevent prices from dropping more than three cents per day. By
Friday, the bloodbath seemed to be slowing down, but left the markets
severely wounded, with fat cattle having shed over nine cents per pound
and feeders losing nearly 12 cents, finishing near $1.47 and $2.08,
respectively. The bright side of this price drop is for consumers, grocery stores, and restaurants, who may benefit from cheaper beef.
Grains get the guillotine Midday
Friday, the USDA raised its projections for coming grain surpluses,
showing swelling supplies of corn, wheat, and soybeans. Boosted by
prospects for extremely large crops this year and tepid demand that will
be unable to eat into the supplies, US grain stockpiles could reach the
highest level in years. Going into the report, corn, wheat, and
soybean prices were already significantly depressed, and prices sliced
lower yet in the wake of the report. By midday Friday, December corn
crumbled to $3.84, December wheat withered to $5.52, and November
soybeans sank to $10.75 per bushel. Prices for this year’s crops are now
at the lowest level since 2010...more
Issues of concern to people who live in the west: property rights, water rights, endangered species, livestock grazing, energy production, wilderness and western agriculture. Plus a few items on western history, western literature and the sport of rodeo... Frank DuBois served as the NM Secretary of Agriculture from 1988 to 2003. DuBois is a former legislative assistant to a U.S. Senator, a Deputy Assistant Secretary of Interior, and is the founder of the DuBois Rodeo Scholarship.
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