Brownfield Ag News

This week in the markets - Cash cattle traded $1.75 higher this week and feeder cattle markets were $2 to $10 higher for the week. The October live cattle futures closed $1.35 higher for the week and October feeders were more than $4.25 higher. The Choice Box Beef price was down nearly $4 this week on weakness in all components, with the exception of ribs. Cash hogs were $1 lower this week and October lean hogs closed down more than $6 this week. Pork cutout value was down $2.40 this week on weakness in all components. Livestock Slaughter - January through August beef production is nearly 3.8 percent higher than a year ago as hog slaughter and hog weights continue to remain above year-ago levels. Beef production grew 0.6% over a year ago as a 1% decrease in cattle weights helped to offset at 1.6% increase in cattle slaughter. Year-to-date beef cow slaughter remains 1.5 percent above last year’s pace. The Southeast and Northwest regions led the increase in overall beef c