NATIONAL FEEDER & STOCKER CATTLE SUMMARY – WEEK ENDING 11/30/2024
By USDA-MO Dept of Ag Market News
RECEIPTS: Auctions Direct Video/Internet Total
This Week: 63,200 14,500 1,200 78,900
Last Week: 230,100 29,400 19,300 278,800
Year Ago: 224,500 32,600 35,800 292,900
Compared to last week, steers and heifers were too thinly tested to establish a trend, however a sharply higher undertone is noted. Marketing of feeder cattle were limited to the Midwest and Upper Plains states this week as the supply of feeders was light. However, most sale barns remained dark this week for the holiday and receipts were moderate to heavy in the barns that held sales; most of which were advertised as a special sale in some way or another and occurred mostly on Monday and Tuesday, while the rest were on Friday and Saturday.
Demand was good to very good as limited auctions happened Thanksgiving week and available supplies were gobbled up by aggressive buyers. The tightest supply is the lighter calves suitable to go to wheat pastures. Now comes the storm of three weeks of frenzied marketing of feeder cattle prior to the Christmas holiday. Historically, the next two weeks receipts will be among the largest weekly numbers each year. The CME Cattle Complex has basically been on fire the last three weeks. The March 2025 Feeder Cattle contract closed last Friday at 258.625; 26.00 higher than right after Labor Day.
The rise in futures the past month runs counter to the collapse last year when the March 2024 contract was 34.125 lower through this same period.
Negotiated sales of slaughter steers and heifers in TX/OK/NM were 2.00 to 3.00 higher at 188.00 to 190.00. Live sales in Kansas sold 3.00 to 4.00 higher at 190.00. In Nebraska sold 3.00 to 4.00 higher at 190.00 to 192.00, while the light volume of dressed sales sold 5.00 higher at 295.00.
Choice boxed beef closed the week 3.11 higher at 310.52 while Select was 2.23 higher at 274.30 for the same period.
Weekly Cattle Slaughter under federal inspection estimated at 528K for the turkey day holiday week, 103K less than last week and 112K less than a year ago (Thanksgiving was the previous week a year ago.)
Current YTD Cattle slaughter is near 1.1 million head less than a year ago.
Auction volume this week included 53% weighing over 600 lbs and 39% heifers.
