Feeder cattle receipts at the test auctions were 32,800 head, 2,000 lower than last week. However, it was 7,000 higher than last year which has been the case lately. That’s because of much better wheat pasture conditions this year which have been holding a lot more cattle. Prices were either side of steady but lighter-weight yearlings were steady to $2 per cwt higher.
Slaughter cow numbers at the test auctions increased a little on the heels of higher prices. The slaughter cow prices were steady to $4 per cwt higher with much more active bidding after the packing plants plowed through big numbers of cows from the flooded areas. Cow meat prices started to improve after being steady during the big numbers from the flooded areas and are starting to get close to last year now.
