Beginning to look a lot like Christmas…
December 19, 2011
Here’s your Meat Market Minute for this week:
Only a small amount of cash trade occurred this week as packers and feeders were unable to agree upon prices. Packers are buying for two Holiday-shortened weeks that are projected to run only 32 hours of production (each week), so that limits their incentive to bid prices up. Some trade was recorded in Kansas as market-ready cattle traded $2 lower last week at $118; Nebraska saw light trade at $119.
Cutouts remained relatively strong despite the seasonal downturn beginning to emerge on ribs. CAB lip-on ribeyes had been carrying the cutout values over the past few weeks, but last week they gave up almost $0.60/lb. As a primal cut, the rib lost 5.2% of its value. With Holiday purchases in place and deliveries beginning to come in, buyers’ attention has quickly turned to end meats. CAB chucks and rounds have found support at current price levels for retailer ad-buying and those are replacing ribs as the foundation of the CAB cutout value.
Quality grades finished November hovering below 60% Choice (59.2%), which helped limit CAB acceptance rates to a three-year weekly low (17.1%). Although fed harvest maintained a level below a year ago, the drop in certified head (11,590 head) can be mostly attributed the 3.4% drop in certification rate versus the previous week (11/21/11).
‘Til we meat again,
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