Hogs

• Lean hog futures were mostly higher on Thursday with only the Feb contract finishing lower. Feb settled at $87.70 down $0.25, while the Apr-Oct contracts were $0.30 to $0.55 higher.
• Pork exports for the week ended 1/22 came in at 56K tons, bringing the accumulated total for the year to 392.8K, which is 2.1% higher than last year.
• The negotiated national average turned lower with a price of $84.38 on Thursday afternoon, down $1.90 from the previous day.
• The pork cutout was also weaker at $93.43, down $1.62.

February 26 Hogs

Grains

• Grains were quiet on Thursday with corn ending the session slightly higher and soybeans ending slightly lower.
• In corn futures the front month March was up $0.0075 at $4.3075, and the May-Sep months were $0.01 to $0.0175 higher.
• Corn export sales of 65 million bushels brought the accumulated total to 2.271 billion, up 33% year over year.
• March soybeans finished at $10.7225, down $0.0275 on Thursday while the May-Sep contracts were down ½ to 2 cents.
• Weekly soybean export sales were 30 million bushels, bringing the marketing year total to 1.244 billion, down 20% from a year ago.

March 26 Corn

March 26 Soybeans

Cattle

• Cattle futures were lower on Thursday. Front month Feb settled at $235.50, down $1.325. The Apr-Oct contracts were down $0.975 to $1.45.
• Beef exports came in at 16.9K tons bringing the marketing year total to 145.9K tons, down 0.9% from last year.
• Estimated slaughter pace remained slow at 112K head. 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.
• Negotiated bids began surfacing at $232-235 yesterday and today, but significant trade has not developed.
• Boxed beef was lower on Thursday afternoon with choice down $2.08 at $367.66, and the select down $2.85 at $360.72. This weakness could pressure tomorrow’s negotiated live trade.

February 26 Cattle

Weather

• The Plains and Midwest will see only light and scattered precipitation over the next ten days, before some better chances arrive from the west/northwest in varied 11-15 day forecasts. Temperatures are slow to rise this week but move into a cool east/northeast & warm west/southwest pattern into mid-Feb.
• Argentina was mostly dry yesterday save for some very isolated south-central rains; chances are present over the next ten days but mostly confined to fringe crop areas going forward. 6-10 day maps do continue to bring in heavier and better coverage into the southwestern half of corn and soybean regions.
• Brazilian rains were strong east over the past 24 hours, and good precipitation moves in to the center-north over the next ten days; southern crop areas will remain fairly dry, particularly in Rio Grande do Sul.