DTN Midday Livestock Comments 10/01 12:17

DTN Midday Livestock Comments 10/01 12:17 Livestock Markets Down, Corn Up Following in Monday's steps, the livestock complex continues to suffer while corn prices keep building. By ShayLe Stewart DTN Livestock Analyst General Comments All the livestock markets are reacting in the same negative manner to the growing interest in corn contracts. Feeder cattle and lean hog contracts are taking the biggest losses, while live cattle contracts only have moderate losses. December corn is up 2 1/4 cents per bushel and December soybean meal is up $5.70. The Dow Jones Industrial Average is down 284.45 points and NASDAQ is down 66.61 points. LIVE CATTLE December live cattle opened Tuesday at $110.32 but have since slipped to $109.75. Nearby and deferred contracts all struggle to find support but with higher boxed beef prices and steady cash trade slowing developing in the countryside, a clear direction has yet to be established. Very limited packer inquiry has developed, but Texas has established asking prices of $108, and Nebraska has set asking prices at $110 live and $175 dressed. A few head sold in Iowa live for $106 and dressed for $165.00. More trade will begin to develop as the week presses on. Midday boxed beef prices are up: choice up $1.56 ($214.00) and select up $0.10 ($187.21). Tuesday's offering of boxed beef movement totaled 63 loads (35.99 loads of choice cuts, 19.90 loads of select cuts, zero loads of trim and 7.42 loads of ground beef). Wednesday's Fed Cattle Exchange has 846 head of cattle offered with two pens from Nebraska, and one pen from Kansas and Texas each, weighing on average 1,336 pounds. FEEDER CATTLE November feeder cattle opened Tuesday at $141.95 and have since slipped to $140.52. Rising corn prices could have feeders cautious about input costs this fall. With steady cash prices slowly being established in the country, feeder cattle could find the strength the market needs if the live cattle market turns around and cash continues to trade for steady to higher money. LEAN HOGS As of midday the lean hog market is seeing the biggest losses in the livestock complex with prices dropping anywhere from $0.90 to $2.85. Both nearby and deferred contracts are suffering the losses and despite higher cutout values and large pork cutout movement, the lean hog board seems determined to give up some of last week's gains. The December lean hog contract opened Tuesday at $72.15 and has since fell to $69.80. The projected lean hog index for 9/30/19 is $57.05, up $0.62 and the lean hog index for 9/27/19 came to $56.41, up $1.09. Prices are up on the National Direct Morning Hog Report, up $0.74 at a weighted average of $49.65, ranging from $44.00 to $51.00 on 8,643 head sold with a five-day rolling average of $48.74. Pork cutouts totaled 220.75 loads (up significantly from Monday's midday offering of 115 loads) with 201.13 loads of pork cuts and 19.62 loads of trim. Pork cutout values came in $2.65 higher at $76.38. ShayLe Stewart can be reached [email protected] (BE) Copyright 2019 DTN/The Progressive Farmer. All rights reserved.