NATIONAL FEEDER & STOCKER CATTLE SUMMARY – WEEK ENDING 02/01/2025
By USDA-MO Dept of Ag Market News
RECEIPTS: Auctions Direct Video/Internet Total
This Week: 293,900 47,600 6,800 348,300
Last Week: 194,400 17,900 56,900 269,200
Year Ago: 286,500 52,600 6,200 345,300
Compared to last week, steers and heifers sold 3.00 to 8.00 higher, with instances 10.00 to 15.00 higher at some auctions as optimism was abound in the industry this week.
Demand was good to very good calf and feeder cattle buyers continue to be aggressive and are starting to look at every nook and cranny for cattle they can procure to go to summer grass, feedlot or the breeding pastures. Usually the old saying is, “Good things come to those who wait” and backgrounders are finding that is not happening in the feeder cattle auctions currently. The prospective buyers that thought I’ll just wait till spring to fill my grass orders are really having to pay up for their grass cattle.
The runup in feeder cattle prices has run counter to traditional thinking this past fall and since the first of the year. In the fall, feeder cattle prices typically see a downtrend in late September through about Thanksgiving as ranchers get their spring calves weaned and vaccinated. This did not happen in 2024; the markets have just slowly increased prices with very few downturns in weekly trends since late September. The previous week, the Cattle on Feed report was somewhat bullish and this week’s highly anticipated Cattle Inventory report was on the industry’s mind, and it did not disappoint the bulls on Friday.
The beef cow number totaled 27.9 million head, down 1 pct from a year ago. Replacement beef heifers were also down 1 pct from a year ago, signaling that herd rebuilding is not in the works yet. Some yearling heifers in areas are probably being purchased for replacements either to sell or retain as the cow herd gets older by another year and experienced cows could become a higher priced commodity as calf and fed cattle prices hit all-time highs.
Negotiated sales of slaughter steers and heifers in the Southern Plains sold 6.00 to 7.00 higher at 208.00 with a few up to 209.00. In Nebraska, live sales were steady to 2.00 lower at 210.00, while dressed sales sold steady to 2.00 higher at 330.00. For the week.
Choice Boxed beef closed on Friday at 327.68, 0.24 lower and Select closed at 317.07, 0.78 higher.
Weekly Cattle Slaughter under federal inspection estimated at 600K, 1K more than last week and 32K less than a year ago.
Auction volume this week included 56% weighing over 600 lbs and 41% heifers.
