Hogs

• Lean hog futures continued to push higher today with strength in the negotiated cash market adding support. Front month Feb showed the most strength finishing at $89.05 up $0.75, while the Apr-Oct were up $0.10 to $0.60.
• The April forward contracts again were able to make new life of contract highs during Tuesday’s session.
• The negotiated national average was up $1.57 at $84.82 on Tuesday afternoon.
• The pork cutout was down $1.57 on Tuesday at $95.69.
• 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 mostly lower on Tuesday with front month March down $0.0175 at $4.265, while the May-Sep contracts were down $0.01 to $0.0125.
• There was a large private sale this morning of 110K tons of corn and 306K tons of milo to unknown destinations as foreign demand for feed grains remains strong.
• March soybeans finished at $10.6725, up $0.055 on Tuesday, while the May-Sep contracts were up $0.035 to $0.055.

March 26 Corn

March 26 Soybeans

Cattle

• Front month Feb settled at $235.60, down $0.425. The Apr-Oct contracts were down $0.125 to $0.60.
• Slaughter pace is becoming notably slower in recent weeks as packer margins pulled back in December and January remaining historically low. With this week’s current pace we could see the lowest non-holiday weekly harvest since the height of Covid related slowdowns in May 2020.
• Boxed beef was lower on Tuesday afternoon with choice down $0.79 at $368.11, and the select down $1.93 at $365.19.

February 26 Cattle

Weather

• The heart of the U.S. remains dry going forward, with precip chances creeping into the far NW and SW into the 6-10 and 11-15 day time frames; temperatures are on the rise this week and moving into a general warm west/cool east pattern over the next week to ten days of February. 
• Argentina was dry again yesterday and the heart of the country’s corn and soybean area remains so over the next ten days; chances hold far west for the next five days before finally trying to creep into SW crop areas for the 6-10?
• Brazilian rains were mostly light but widespread over the past 24 hours; the next ten days will see good coverage and amounts in central and northern growing regions, while dryness continues to increase for southern crops.