DTN Midday Livestock Comments          09/21 11:51

   Monday Sends the Livestock Contracts Sharply Higher 

   Showlists for this week are lighter in Kansas and Nebraska, but larger in 
Texas.

ShayLe Stewart
DTN Livestock Analyst

GENERAL COMMENTS:

   With ample support pouring into the livestock complex, all three of the 
livestock contracts are trading higher into midday Monday. Showlists for this 
week are lighter in Kansas and Nebraska, but larger in Texas. December corn is 
up 14 3/4 cents per bushel and December soybean meal is up $8.70. The Dow Jones 
Industrial Average is up 323.82 points and the NASDAQ is up 533.08 points.

LIVE CATTLE:

   Thanks to the note of lighter placements on Friday's Cattle on Feed report, 
and to the fact that Southern live cattle were able to trade steady, the live 
cattle complex is trading robustly higher into midday Monday. October live 
cattle are up $4.02 at $219.95, December live cattle are up $4.72 at $221.30 
and February live cattle are up $5.17 at $222.52.

   Last week, Northern dressed cattle traded mostly at $ 350, which is steady 
with the previous week's weighted average, but Southern live cattle waited 
until the week's bitter end to trade on Saturday, and we will have to wait 
until the midmorning USDA reports come out to know what the exact weighted 
average was, but most trade was marked at $226 in the South, which is steady 
with the previous week's weighted average as well. No bids or asking prices 
have surfaced yet this week. Showlists for this week are lighter in Kansas and 
Nebraska, but larger in Texas.  

   Boxed beef prices are higher: choice up $5.50 ($377.44) and select up $3.59 
($356.85) with a movement of 27 loads (19.46 loads of choice, 2.87 loads of 
select, zero loads of trim and 4.93 loads of ground beef).

FEEDER CATTLE:

   Traders have taken note of the lower placements on Friday's Cattle on Feed 
report and have run the feeder cattle contracts sharply higher thus far through 
Monday's market. September feeders are up $3.42 at $337.00, October feeders are 
up $6.07 at $329.57 and November feeders are up $7.12 at $325.12. And so long 
as the live cattle contracts continue to trade higher, it's likely that the 
feeder cattle contracts will too, as there's ample support available in the 
market right now.

LEAN HOGS :

   Even the lean hog contracts are trading higher into midday Monday as ample 
support is available throughout the complex right now. October lean hogs are up 
$0.47 at $78.57, December lean hogs are up $1.42 at $69.97 and February lean 
hogs are up $1.32 at $71.47. But with the combination of traders' support mixed 
with the $2.33 advance in morning pork cutout values, the lean hog complex is 
also being well supported into midday Monday.

   The projected lean hog index for 9/18/2026 is down $0.60 at $83.42 and the 
actual index for 9/17/2026 is down $1.00 at $84.02. Hog prices are lower on the 
Daily Direct Morning Hog Report, down $1.30 with a weighted average price of 
$80.47, ranging from $73.00 to $81.50 on 2,931 head and a five-day rolling 
average of $83.37. Pork cutouts total 169.94 loads, with 153.83 loads of pork 
cuts and 16.11 loads of trim. Pork cutout values: up $2.33, $89.31.

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




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