DTN Midday Livestock Comments          03/23 11:42

   Traders Drive Cattle Contracts Higher Into Monday's Noon Hour 

   The livestock complex is off to a strong start as the contracts edge higher 
into Monday's noon hour. 

ShayLe Stewart
DTN Livestock Analyst

GENERAL COMMENTS:

   The livestock complex is trading mostly higher into Monday's noon hour as 
traders again seem committed to advancing the contracts higher. New showlists 
appear to be somewhat lower in Nebraska/Colorado and much lower in Kansas and 
Texas. May corn is down 4 cents per bushel and May soybean meal is down $1.80. 
The Dow Jones Industrial Average is up 601.09 points and NASDAQ is up 248.66 
points.

LIVE CATTLE:

   The live cattle complex is trading mostly higher into Monday's noon hour, 
although a couple of the late 2026 contracts are trading slightly lower. More 
than anything, it's likely the note of steady on-feed numbers has traders 
concerned there may be more supply available in the later part of 2026 than 
originally anticipated, which could be partly driving down those contracts 
Monday morning. April live cattle are up $0.17 at $234.22, June live cattle are 
up $0.25 at $233.67 and August live cattle are up $0.02 at $230.85. It's likely 
the market will continue to chop sideways between its 100-day and 40-day moving 
averages until something drives the market one way or another. New showlists 
appear to be somewhat lower in Nebraska/Colorado and much lower in Kansas and 
Texas.

   Last week, Northern dressed cattle traded at mostly $372, which is steady 
with the previous week's weighted average, and Southern live cattle traded at 
mostly $235, which is also steady with the previous week's weighted average.

   Boxed beef prices are mixed: choice down $0.61 ($399.50) and select up $0.62 
($393.56) with a movement of 35 loads (25.11 loads of choice, 4.00 loads of 
select, 3.00 loads of trim and 2.84 loads of ground beef).

FEEDER CATTLE:

   Friday's Cattle on Feed report hasn't added much of a hiccup to Monday's 
market as the feeder cattle contracts are also trading higher. March feeders 
are up $1.17 at $358.92, April feeders are up $0.20 at $351.37 and May feeders 
are up $0.87 at $347.25. Demand was stronger last week in sale barns across the 
countryside as green grass is just around the corner for most producers, and 
that was evident in sales as grass calves were bringing more money. It's likely 
that trend will continue this week, especially if the board remains encouraging.

LEAN HOGS:

   After plummeting lower late last week, the lean hog complex is now trading 
mixed into Monday's noon hour with its nearby contracts mostly higher while the 
deferred contracts continue to scale lower. April lean hogs are down $0.37 at 
$90.90, June lean hogs are up $0.17 at $104.65 and July lean hogs are up $0.07 
at $106.77. In order for the nearby contracts to continue to trade higher this 
week, it will be imperative that pork demand improves. The projected CME Lean 
Hog Index for 3/20/2026 is down $0.18 at $91.77 and the actual index for 
3/19/2026 is down $0.09 at $91.95. Hog prices are unavailable on the Daily 
Direct Morning Hog report because of confidentiality. However, we can see that 
only 738 head have traded and the market's five-day rolling average now sits at 
$91.94. Pork cutouts total 180.57 loads with 154.80 loads of pork cuts and 
25.77 loads of trim. Pork cutout values: up $0.80, $100.00.

   ShayLe Stewart can be reached at shayle.stewart@dtn.com




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