DTN Midday Livestock Comments          03/05 11:40

   Mixed Tones Dominate Livestock Complex Thursday's Near Noon 

   A single cash bid is currently on the table in Nebraska but still no cash 
cattle have traded. 

ShayLe Stewart
DTN Livestock Analyst

GENERAL COMMENTS:

   The livestock contracts are mixed heading into Thursday's noon hour with 
traders longing to see continued fundamental support. Still no cash cattle 
trade has developed. May corn is up 7 cents per bushel and May soybean meal is 
down $0.60. The Dow Jones Industrial Average is down 873.85 points and NASDAQ 
is down 138.07 points.

   Thursday's export report shared that beef net sales of 11,200 metric tons 
(mt) for 2026 were down 14% from the previous week and 29% from the prior 
four-week average. The three largest buyers were Japan (3,300 mt), South Korea 
(2,300 mt) and Mexico (1,700 mt). Pork net sales of 36,100 mt for 2026 were 
down 15% from the previous week but up 8% from the prior four-week average. The 
three largest buyers were Mexico (22,400 mt), Japan (3,800 mt) and South Korea 
(2,500 mt).

LIVE CATTLE:

   The live cattle complex is trading mildly higher following Wednesday's 
sizeable surge. Traders are cautiously advancing the spot April contract above 
its 40-day moving average, but it's not come without some worry as traders 
question whether or not they're overdoing the upward trend right now. If we had 
seen some stronger trade in the fed cash cattle market, then there likely 
wouldn't be any worry amongst traders; but we've yet to see any cash trade 
develop. April live cattle are up $0.30 at $238.65, June live cattle are up 
$0.45 at $235.62 and August live cattle are up $0.37 at $233.60. There's a 
single bid currently on the table at $375 in Nebraska, but otherwise the market 
is sitting idle as feedlot managers wait for packers to offer up stronger bids. 
Asking prices are noted at $244 in the South but are still not established in 
the North.

   Boxed beef prices are mixed: choice down $0.10 ($388.47) and select up $0.56 
($380.91) with a movement of 48 loads (24.12 loads of choice, 4.98 loads of 
select, 11.98 loads of trim and 6.70 loads of ground beef).

FEEDER CATTLE:

   The live cattle complex is pushing its spot April contract above the 40-day 
moving average, but the feeder cattle complex isn't seeing the same level of 
support as traders aren't comfortable pushing above their 40-day moving average 
at this time. March feeders are down $0.87 at $363.05, April feeders are down 
$1.50 at $359.25 and May feeders are down $1.35 at $355.70. Unless something 
substantial develops in the cattle market's fundamentals, the feeder cattle 
contracts will likely continue to hedge on the side of safety and continue to 
trade steady to slightly lower.

LEAN HOGS:

   Following Wednesday's sharp rally, the lean hog complex is mixed heading 
into Thursday's noon hour as traders no longer want to push the contracts up to 
the market's resistance. April lean hogs are down $1.62 at $95.45, June lean 
hogs are down $1.27 at $109.92 and July lean hogs are down $0.80 at $112.15. It 
is helpful to see pork cutout values mildly higher as traders need to see 
continued fundamental support.

   The CME Projected Lean Hog Index for 3/4/2026 is up $0.37 at $90.55, and the 
actual index for 3/3/2026 is up $0.34 at $90.18. Hog prices are unavailable on 
the Daily Direct Morning Hog Report because of confidentiality. However, we can 
see that only 830 head have traded and the market's five-day rolling average 
now sits at $91.35. Pork cutouts totaled 157.31 loads with 128.89 loads of pork 
cuts and 28.42 loads of trim. Pork cutout values: up $0.56, $99.18.

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




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