Hogs

• Lean hog futures found some traction on Tuesday and finished higher across the board following a six-day pullback. Front month April settled at $92.30 up $1.025 while the Jun-Dec contracts were up $0.625 to $1.525.
• The negotiated national average lean hog price on Tuesday afternoon was $88.23, which is a new high for 2026.
• The pork cutout continues to trade in a sideways range, losing $0.97 on Tuesday posting $95.88 on Tuesday afternoon.
• Spain’s high-risk perimeter for ASF was expanded after finding two dead wild boars that had been infected and were outside the previous high-risk perimeter.
• The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) today announced proposed updates to federal line speed regulations in poultry and pork establishments operating under modern inspection systems. The updates will potentially remove outdated bottlenecks in order to lower production costs and create greater stability in the food system.

April’26 Hogs 

Grains

• Corn futures were lower on Tuesday with March closing at $4.2625, down $0.055. The May-Sep contracts were down $0.055 to $0.0625.
• Export inspections for last week came in at 59 million bushels although not a record it was a historically strong total for the calendar week.
• Soybean futures closed modestly higher on Tuesday after trading an inside previous day range for the 2025/26 crop year months. March closed at $11.34 up $0.01, and the May-Sep months were up $0.0025 to $0.0325.
• Export inspections for soybeans were 44 million bushels last week as the pace continues its abnormal pattern of strengthening later in the season due to China’s late start buying US beans.

March’26 Corn 

March’26 Soybeans

Cattle

• Cattle futures ended higher on Tuesday following last week’s strong cash trade. Front month Feb closed at $246.55, up $3.475. The Apr-Oct contracts were up $1.95 to $2.30
• Last week’s average negotiated cattle trade came in at $245 for NE up $5, $248 for KS up $4, and $247 for Texas up $3.
• Boxed beef prices were lower with choice down $3.01 at $364.76, and the select down $1.01 at $360.22. The cutout has not kept pace with increasing negotiated live cattle prices and very poor packing margins continue to deteriorate.

February’26 Cattle

Weather

• Active winter weather moves through the northern/northeastern belt today, with some chances in the heart of the Midwest tomorrow; a wet north/dry center-south pattern continues over the next two weeks. Temperatures will dip into this weekend but hold safely above-normal right up into early March.
• Argentina will see some rain chances through the weekend center-north, though the forecast remains mostly dry otherwise. Brazilian rains were light and scattered yesterday but action looks widespread and heavy thru Sunday.