ANKENY — In cattle country, both buyers and sellers are busy taking inventory, bids and asking prices have yet to be established. Last week’s trade came in generally $3 to $4 higher on dressed deals in the North at 260.00 to 261.00, and about $2 higher on live business in the South at mostly $163.00.
Boxed beef cutout values are mixed with the choice up $1.10 at $245.61, and select down $0.45 at $242.83.
Feeder cattle receipts at the Joplin, Missouri Regional Stockyards today totaled 6,000 head. Compared to last week, steer and heifer calves are steady, yearlings $1 to $4 higher. Demand was good and supply was moderate.
Nationally the market is $1.23 lower with a weighted average of $55.67 on a carcass basis. Missouri direct base carcass meat price is a $1 lower from $54 to $55. Midwest hogs on a live basis are steady to $2 lower from $34 to $46. The $46 is for premise ID hogs in Iowa and Wisconsin.
The pork carcass cutout value FOB plant is down $0.59 at $68.62.
For the second consecutive week, commercial pork production exceeded year ago tonnage by 10 percent. Such a massive increase may be a sign that herd expansion is much larger than previously recognized.
Economists at the University of Missouri estimate that domestic pork demand in February measured 15 percent greater than a year earlier.