3-1-2013

The best thing about Friday in the livestock marketing business is you get to reset and do it all over again next week!  The market seemed to get stronger as the week progressed with the main theme being the light receipts.  The wet weather and wishy washy market kept local sellers on the sideline with a wait and see attitude.  Most all the buyers I talked to today agreed that the local market would be stronger next week due mainly to the limited supply, although the effects of sequestration are anyone’s guess.   The blizzard in the West and Midwest was a heavy burden on feedlots earlier in the week and severely limited where our southeastern cattle could be shipped.  Now that most of the snow has been cleared, it may be seen as more of a blessing than a curse because some of the areas hardest hit by the snow fall were in the most need for moisture.  With spring around the corner and the confidence a little moisture can bring, hopefully we will see an increase in demand for both feeder cattle and lighter grass cattle.  The main trump card on the feeder side is the corn crop. The feedlot owners are already jumping up and down like Yosemite Sam about their cost of gain and any indication that corn will go higher makes them very nervous.  A bumper corn crop would be a good thing as far as cattle prices are concerned.  Even with the lowest total cow numbers since 1952 the packers have been singing the blues lately as well about not being able to move product at the retail level due to the stagnate economy. Hopefully with the coming warmer weather and longer daylight hours everyone will dust off the grill and enjoy some of the greatest protein source on earth, American farm raised BEEF!