DTN Midday Livestock Comments          03/11 11:46

   Livestock Contracts Turn Sharply Lower Wednesday

   A cloud of additional pressure has seemed to overcome the livestock complex 
on Wednesday as the contracts are back to trading sharply lower. 

ShayLe Stewart
DTN Livestock Analyst

GENERAL COMMENTS:

   The livestock complex is trading lower into midday Wednesday as traders 
simply aren't seeing enough support to keep the markets steady, let alone allow 
them to trade higher. Some light cash cattle trade has begun to develop, and 
currently, prices are trading at $372 in the North, which is $8.00 lower. May 
corn is up 9 1/2 cents per bushel and May soybean meal is up $2.40. The Dow 
Jones Industrial Average is down 457.27 points and the NASDAQ is down 29.85 
points.

LIVE CATTLE:

   The live cattle complex has been trading lower, but with new developments 
surfacing in the fed cash cattle market, where cattle are trading sharply lower 
than compared to a week ago, there's a slim chance the market will do anything 
but continue to scale lower through the day's end. April live cattle are down 
$2.32 at $229.97, June live cattle are down $2.52 at $227.67 and August live 
cattle are down $2.40 at $225.95. Some light cash cattle trade is currently 
being noted in the North at $372, which is $8.00 lower than last week's 
weighted average. And a handful of steers have also been sold in Kansas at 
$235, which is $5.00 lower than last week's weighted average. Asking prices are 
noted in the North at $374, but are not established yet in the South.

   Boxed beef prices are higher: choice up $1.27 ($395.94) and select up $1.85 
($388.62) with a movement of 52 loads (36.33 loads of choice, 2.76 loads of 
select, 7.35 loads of trim and 5.17 loads of ground beef).

FEEDER CATTLE:

   It's been a "bah humbug"-like day for the cattle complex, but especially for 
the feeder cattle market as currently its contracts are trading anywhere from 
$5.00 to $7.00 lower. The onset of weaker market fundamentals in the cash 
sector is why the feeder cattle complex is trading significantly lower and is 
currently even pressuring the market's 100-day moving average in the spot April 
contract. March feeders are down $5.55 at $347.80, April feeders are down $7.02 
at $342.72 and May feeders are down $7.37 at $339.02.

LEAN HOGS:

   The lean hog complex is also trading lower as a weaker note has overcome the 
entire livestock complex. April lean hogs are down $0.72 at $95.35, June lean 
hogs are down $1.67 at $108.97 and July lean hogs are down $1.62 at $111.20. 
And with midday pork cutout values lower, it's unlikely that the market turns 
around and begins to trade higher ahead of the day's end.

   The projected lean hog index for 3/10/2026 is up $0.23 at $91.20 and the 
actual index for 3/9/2026 is up $0.10 at $90.97. Hog prices are higher on the 
Daily Direct Morning Hog report, up $0.37 with a weighted average price of 
$93.05, ranging from $86.00 to $94.00 on 7,000 head and a five-day rolling 
average of $92.69. Pork cutouts total 185.08 loads with 157.29 loads of pork 
cuts and 27.79 loads of trim. Pork cutout values: down $0.72, $98.38.

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




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