NATIONAL FEEDER & STOCKER CATTLE SUMMARY – WEEK ENDING 05/03/2025
By USDA-MO Dept of Ag Market News
RECEIPTS: Auctions Direct Video/Internet Total
This Week: 152,900 38,000 47,600 238,500
Last Week: 154,100 22,900 15,900 192,900
Year Ago: 145,300 42,000 57,100 244,400
Compared to last week, steers and heifers sold 3.00 to 7.00 higher.
Good to very good demand for all weights with fewer feeder cattle offered in the auctions this week as normal for this time of year.
There have been around 10K head on average fewer per week in the last month than in the previous two to three years.
With the cash fed cattle market continuing to advance, the competition to buy feeder cattle increased again. As the fat cattle market sets new all-time high historical prices, the feeder cattle market moves higher right along with it.
Cattle producers are very optimistic and want to own cattle, the market is very active as bids are easy to find. The futures contracts are having a tough time advancing as quickly as the cash market but that is not slowing buyers down. Summer Feeder Cattle futures keep climbing and getting ever so close to 300.00. After sharp losses in the CME Cattle Complex at the beginning of April, Futures have come roaring back and surpassed expectations to record highs as outside market influences could only hold the market down for a short time until fundamentals took over.
Much progress was made planting corn this week, warmer temps in the forecast for this week will have corn up and growing quickly.
Negotiated sales of fed cattle in Kansas sold 5.00 to 8.00 higher at 218.00. In TX/OK/NM, live sales sold 6.00 higher at 218.00.
In Nebraska, live sales were 4.00 to 5.00 higher at 222.00 to 223.00, while dressed sales sold 7.00 to 10.00 higher at 350.00.
For the week, Choice Boxed beef closed on Friday at 342.90, 6.42 higher and Select closed at 325.35, 5.24 higher.
Weekly Cattle Slaughter under federal inspection estimated at 559K, 4K more than last week and 63K less than a year ago.
Year-to-Date Cattle Slaughter is near 650K less than a year ago.
After only 18 weeks so far this year, it calculates to more than 36K per week less than last year's weekly slaughter volume. Auction volume this week included 50% weighing over 600 lbs and 45% heifers.
