Hogs

• Lean hog future finished mixed on Monday with Feb slightly lower at $88.30 down $0.05, and the Apr-Oct contracts up $0.125 to $0.675.
• The April forward contracts continue to push into new life of contract highs with the 2026 pork balance sheet expected to be historically tight with large production forecasts being offset by large demand expectations.
• The negotiated national average was down $0.31 at $83.25 to start the week.
• The pork cutout posted at $97.26 on Monday afternoon, up $1.51.
• Hog crush margins remain historically favorable as lean hog futures gains are offsetting recent gains in grain and oilseed markets.

February 26 Hogs

Grains

• Corn futures were modestly lower on Monday with front month March down $0.0225 at $4.2825, while the May-Sep contracts were down $0.0075 to $0.02.
• Corn export inspections came in at 59.5 million bushels keeping the year to date accumulated pace up 53% from last year.
• March soybeans finished at $10.6175, down $0.06 on Monday, while the May-Sep contracts were down $0.0375 to $0.055.
• Soybean export inspections for last week were 49 million bushels with China accounting for 33 million of that.

March '26 Corn

March 26 Soybeans

Cattle

• Front month Feb settled at $235.025, up $1.125. The Apr-Oct contracts were up $1.075 to $1.25.
• Slaughter pace is becoming notably slower in recent weeks as packer margins pulled back in December and January remaining historically low. This week’s pace is starting out even slower at 100,000 hd.
• Boxed beef was mixed on Monday afternoon with choice down $0.02 at $368.90 and the select up $4.73 at $367.12.

February 26 Cattle

Weather

• The heart of the U.S. remains dry for the foreseeable future, with temperatures still cold but warming up a bit this week; extended maps move to a cool east/southeast and warmer west up through the first week to ten days of Feb.
• Argentine rains held far north over the past 24 hours and mostly linger far west over the next ten days, as dryness increases for most of the country. 
• Brazilian rains were scattered and light yesterday but coverage and amounts pick up center-north over the next ten days; dryness concerns will increase in southern corn (and soybean) areas up into early February.