Cattle Prices Soar as Grains Look for Direction

Good afternoon, everybody.

Grains are mixed this Friday, the last trading day of the week. Wheat is lower, corn is higher, and beans are in between. Cattle are sharply higher—every time I look, they’re almost another dollar up.

Looking at the grain trade, the focus is now shifting to the WASDE report coming out on Tuesday, while tariff discussions take a back seat. The market is looking for estimates, with corn and wheat appearing supportive and beans slightly bearish. No major changes are expected from the USDA in export numbers for carryout, as uncertainty around tariffs continues to cloud the export outlook. Given the shifting headlines, the market is struggling to find direction today.

The 30-day tariff grace period ends in early April, at which point we’ll see if Trump reinstates the tariffs. Until then, corn should remain slightly supportive. Meanwhile, Trump is also considering reciprocal tariffs on Canada in response to their tariffs on U.S. lumber and dairy, aiming for a level playing field since no agreement has been reached yet.

Grain Markets

• Wheat:

  • Kansas May: down 1 ¾ cents at 564

  • Kansas July: down 2 cents at 577

  • Chicago May: down 1 ½ cents at 552

  • Chicago July: down 1 cent at 566

  • Spring May: down 2 ¾ cents at 591

  • Spring July: down 3 ½ cents at 604

• Corn:

  • May: up 6 ¼ cents at 470

  • July: up 6 ½ cents at 476

  • December (new crop): up 3 cents at 453

• Soybeans:

  • May: down 1 cent at 1027

  • July: up ½ cent at 1041

  • November: up 4 ¼ cents at 1025

• Soybean Products:

  • Soybean oil (May): up 14 cents at 43.36

  • Meal: up 1 ½ at 306.20

  • Canola: up $10.40 at 645.00

Cattle Markets

• Boxed Beef:

  • Choice: up $1.19

  • Select: up $2.58

• Feeder Cattle Index Estimate:

  • Today: 273.77, down $2.32 from yesterday

• Live Cattle:

  • April: up $4.10 at 222.00

  • June: up $4.00 at 196.50

  • August: up $3.65 at 194.50

  • December: up $2.87 at 197.22

• Feeder Cattle:

  • March: up $3.05 at 277.05

  • April: up $3.90 at 278.12

  • August: up $3.77 at 280.87

• Lean Hogs:

  • April: up 65 cents at 87.20

  • May: up $1.12 at 90.95

Other Markets

• Crude Oil (May): up 68 cents at $66.62 per barrel

• Dow Jones: up 50 points at 42,700

• NASDAQ: down 70 points at 20,100

• S&P 500: down 7 points at 5,700

• Dollar Index: down 23 cents, breaking below 104, at 103.92

• Gold: down $6 at 2,009.13

• Silver: down 40 cents at 32.80

• Bitcoin: down $1,400 at 88,735

Talk to you guys next week.