DTN Midday Livestock Comments          06/11 11:52

   Cattle Continue to Inch Higher Thursday

   Cash cattle bids are on the table in the South on Thursday, but none have 
traded yet. 

ShayLe Stewart
DTN Livestock Analyst

GENERAL COMMENTS:

   The cattle contracts are continuing to rally into Thursday's noon hour, but 
the lean hog complex hasn't found the same support. Bids are on the table in 
the South, but no cattle have traded yet. July corn is down 5 1/4 cents per 
bushel and July soybean meal is up $1.00. The Dow Jones Industrial Average is 
up 387.35 points and NASDAQ is up 203.30 points.

LIVE CATTLE:

   The live cattle contracts are still mildly rallying as traders gingerly push 
the contracts higher and closer to resistance at the market's 40-day moving 
average. At this point, traders haven't seemed nervous about getting closer to 
that resistance threshold, which hopefully means they'll hold this momentum 
through Thursday's close. June live cattle are up $0.90 at $251.00, August live 
cattle are up $1.07 at $242.57 and October live cattle are up $1.55 at $235.25. 
Bids are on the table in three major feeding states, but because the offers are 
well below asking prices trade could be delayed for a while still. Asking 
prices are noted at $258 in the South but are not established in the North.

   Thursday's WASDE report shared that beef production for 2026 was decreased 
by 109 million pounds as both fed and non-fed slaughter speeds have declined. 
However, it is worth nothing that the decline in slaughter is partially offset 
by heavier carcass weights. The quarterly steer price projections didn't show 
much of a change from May's report. The only quarter that saw an increase from 
last month was second quarter steers averaged $255 -- up $2.00 from las month. 
Steers in the third quarter are expected to average $252 and steers in the 
third quarter are expected to average $255 -- both of which are unchanged from 
a month ago. Beef imports for 2026 were steady at 6,109 million pounds, but 
beef exports for 2026 fell by 20 million pounds.

   Boxed beef prices are mixed: choice up $1.59 ($394.88) and select down $0.41 
($375.30) with a movement of 63 loads (44.09 loads of choice, 8.10 loads of 
select, 7.39 loads of trim and 3.29 loads of ground beef).

FEEDER CATTLE:

   Upon seeing the live cattle contracts scaling higher, the feeder cattle 
contracts are boldly pushing higher into Thursday's noon hour. August feeders 
are up $5.30 at $359.67, September feeders are up $4.72 at $356.10 and October 
feeders are up $4.65 at $352.37. Helping add some additional support to the 
market is the fact that buyers have been a tick more aggressive this week in 
the countryside as the board's higher trend seems to have them buying more 
confidently.

LEAN HOGS:

   While the cattle contracts rally, the lean hog contracts continue to fall as 
traders aren't confident in the marketplace right now. Yes, midday pork cutout 
values may be higher, but traders have seen too much choppy trade lately to let 
that alone hold the market steady. July lean hogs are down $0.27 at $96.57, 
August lean hogs are up $0.12 at $95.55 and August lean hogs are up $0.15 at 
$95.57. The projected CME Lean Hog Index for 6/10/2026 is down $0.02 at $92.90 
and the actual index for 6/9/2026 is up $0.16 at $92.92. Hog prices are higher 
on the Daily Direct Morning Hog Report, up $0.25 with a weighted average price 
of $97.60, ranging from $93.00 to $98.00 on 904 head and a five-day rolling 
average of $96.67. Pork cutouts total 137.43 loads with 128.47 loads of pork 
cuts and 8.95 loads of trim. Pork cutout values: up $1.05, $97.01.

   Thursday's WASDE report shared that pork production for 2026 was increased 
by 10 million pounds as heavier carcass weights are more than offsetting the 
slight decline in production. Meanwhile quarterly hog prices saw a decrease 
from last month's report as hogs in the second quarter remained steady at 
$64.50, but hogs in the third quarter are now expected to average $69 (down 
$2.00) and hogs in the fourth quarter are now expected to average $74 (down 
$3.00). Pork imports for 2026 grew by 10 million pounds and pork exports for 
2026 grew by 20 million pounds.  

   Note:

   The cattle complex has seen record-high prices in the last year. But it's 
also been saddled with record-high risk and volatility, among many other 
challenges. To better understand these challenges, join Livestock Analyst 
ShayLe Stewart for DTN's inaugural Beef Industry Exchange webinar hosted by 
Senior Livestock Editor Jennifer Carrico on June 24.

   In addition to ShayLe's cattle market update, DTN Ag Meteorologist John 
Baranick will share how variability and a building Super El Nino might save or 
doom U.S. pastures. Considering widespread drought conditions across the U.S., 
cow-calf producers may be considering a reduction of the herd. To prepare for 
this, Aaron Berger, a University of Nebraska Lincoln Beef Systems Extension 
Educator, shares different strategies to set up cow herd rebuilding when it 
rains again. Register today: 
https://nam11.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fdtn.link%2FBee
fIndustryExchange&data=05%7C02%7CCheri.Zagurski%40dtn.com%7C87586e0879a148fe41b0
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   ShayLe Stewart can be reached shayle.stewart@dtn.com




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