Making the best of beef
Live cattle traded early last week as a small rally in the futures market on Wednesday encouraged packers to increase their bids to $126, steady with previous week levels. Production was well under previous year and 2.3% down from the week before in number of head harvested. Carcass weights, however, continue to run well above historical levels and have offset some of the losses in head count. CAB® carcass weights are up 11 pounds for the fiscal year to date, and 35 pounds above the last 6 weeks versus previous year.
Boxed beef values were down week across all grades as demand was called sluggish. Most retail buyers have moved past Easter purchases and are now looking to begin filling their needs for peak grilling months. Grade continues to improve as USDA Choice runs at 66% of the fed cattle harvest, a full point above previous year levels. This bodes well for CAB® production, which continues up as well; acceptance rate improved over previous week to reach 24.9%.
Until we meat again,
-David
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