DTN Midday Livestock Comments          10/08 11:53

   Without Stronger Fundamental Support, Traders Push the Livestock Contracts 
Lower

   Bids are on the table in Nebraska from $340 to $345, but no cash cattle 
trade has developed just yet.

ShayLe Stewart
DTN Livestock Analyst

GENERAL COMMENTS:

   Without better fundamental support, the livestock contracts are trading 
lower into Thursday's noon hour. Bids have surfaced in Nebraska, but no cash 
cattle trade has developed just yet. December corn is down 2 1/4 cents per 
bushel and December soybean meal is down $8.30. The Dow Jones Industrial 
Average is down 149.71 points and NASDAQ is down 163.29 points.

   Thursday's export report shared that beef net sales of 13,000 mt for 2026 
were down 11% from the previous week but up 11% from the prior 4-week average. 
The three largest buyers were South Korea (4,600 mt), Japan (2,400 mt) and 
Mexico (2,100 mt). Pork net sales of 26,900 mt for 2026 were down 24% from the 
previous week and 16% from the prior 4-week average. The three largest buyers 
were Mexico (19,100 mt), South Korea (3,400 mt) and Japan (2,300 mt).

LIVE CATTLE:

   The live cattle complex is trading lower into Thursday's noon hour as the 
market continues to look for fundamental support, but no cash cattle trade has 
developed just yet. Bids of $340 to $345 are currently on the table in 
Nebraska, but otherwise, no packer interest has developed. There's still a 
chance that trade could be delayed until Friday as feedlot managers may hold 
out to see if packer demand improves as time passes. It's unlikely packers will 
get too much more aggressive this week as they were able to secure just over 
88,000 head in last week's market. October live cattle are down $0.87 at 
$220.72, December live cattle are down $1.27 at $222.50 and February live 
cattle are down $1.47 at $225.07.

   Boxed beef prices are lower: choice down $0.75 ($374.87) and select down 
$2.12 ($352.09) with a movement of 67 loads (41.08 loads of choice, 14.97 loads 
of select, 4.42 loads of trim and 6.19 loads of ground beef).

FEEDER CATTLE:

   The feeder cattle contracts are also trading lower, in line with the live 
cattle complex. October feeders are down $1.90 at $336.25, November feeders are 
down $2.62 at $333.17 and January feeders are down $3.40 at $327.00. Until 
either the live cattle contracts or the fed cash cattle market trade higher, 
it's likely that this slightly weaker tone will remain the theme for the feeder 
cattle market.

LEAN HOGS:

   Without stronger interest from consumers, traders have again elected to 
allow the lean hog contracts to drift lower as the market's fundamental support 
is weak. October lean hogs are down $0.72 at $76.20, December lean hogs are 
down $0.60 at $68.50 and February lean hogs are down $0.27 at $69.65. And 
unfortunately, given the time of the week -- even if pork demand were to 
improve this afternoon or on Friday -- it's unlikely that traders will become 
much more supportive of the complex at this point in time. The projected lean 
hog index for 10/7/2026 is down $0.50 at $78.41, and the actual index for 
10/6/2026 is down $0.31 at $78.91. Hog prices are higher on the Daily Direct 
Morning Hog Report, up $0.42 with a weighted average price of $72.54, ranging 
from $69.00 to $80.00 on 726 head and a five-day rolling average of $75.32. 
Pork cutouts total 168.90 loads with 145.16 loads of pork cuts and 23.74 loads 
of trim. Pork cutout values: down $0.14, $81.57.

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




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