Friday Market Watch

LIVESTOCK:

Friday's market came as a mixed bag for the livestock sector. Feeder cattle took the opportunity to rally amid a lower trending corn market, but the live cattle sector couldn't muster any support as traders let the contracts venture lower and the cash market couldn't entice any more bids. Meanwhile the lean hog market stood little chance of trading higher as the day's biggest headline was that African swine fever had been confirmed in Rome. Hog prices closed lower on the Daily Direct Afternoon Hog Report, down $1.59 with a weighted average of $101.98 on 4,896 head. 

From Friday-to-Friday livestock futures scored the following changes: June live cattle up $0.10, August live cattle up $0.07; May feeder cattle up $3.20, August feeder cattle up $6.43; June lean hogs down $2.27, July lean hogs down $2.98.

Friday's slaughter is estimated at 121,000 head -- 3,000 head more than a week ago and 10,000 head more than a year ago. Saturday's slaughter is projected to be around 49,000 head -- 16,000 head more than a week ago and 8,000 head less than a year ago. This week's slaughter is estimated to be 657,000 head -- which is 8,000 head more than last week and 18,000 head more than the same week a year ago.

Boxed beef prices closed lower: choice down $0.74 ($254.44) and select down $0.75 ($245.06) with a movement of 80 loads (45.61 loads of choice, 14.01 loads of select, 8.69 loads of trim and 11.90 loads of ground beef). The choice/select spread now sits at $9.38. Throughout the week choice cuts averaged $258.29 (down $4.92 from last week) and select cuts averaged $246.83 (down $5.99 from last week) and the week's movement of cuts, grinds, and trim totaled 626 loads.

GRAINS:

July corn closed down 12 3/4 cents per bushel and December corn was down 17 3/4 cents. July soybeans closed down 25 cents and November soybeans were down 21 cents. July KC wheat closed down 6 1/2 cents, July Chicago wheat was up 2 cents and July Minneapolis wheat was down 1 cent. 

For the Week:

July corn finished down 28 ¾ cents, December corn finished down 17 ¾. July soybeans closed down 62 3/4 cents; November beans were down 44 cents. July Chicago wheat closed up 52 3/4, July Kansas City closed up 64 3/4 cents, and Minneapolis September closed up 53 cents.

DAIRY:

MILK

Both Class III and Class IV milk futures showed mostly double-digit losses. Traders were disappointed over the inability of underlying cash to move higher. The sideways pattern is solid for now with little reason for price to move in any long-term trend. Warmer weather is here, and cow comfort has improved, allowing for increased production in the farm. Milk receipts are increasing, allowing plants to increase production. However, there is extra spot milk available, as well, which has resulted in discounts of up to $3 below class in some areas of the Central region. There are also some areas that have spot milk commanding a premium of $0.50, depending on location and demand. Cheese manufacturers welcome the extra milk, as they want to fill orders and well as build some inventory for later demand. The value of dairy exports in March totaled $859.6 million. This is 25% higher than a year ago. Total exports reached 213,553 metric tons, down 1% from a year ago. March exports nearly matched the record high of 2021.

AVERAGE CLASS III PRICES

3 Month:	$24.52
6 Month:	$23.89
9 Month:	$23.24
12 Month:	$22.50

CHEESE

For the week, blocks decreased 2 cents with seven loads traded. Barrels increased 4 cents with 18 loads traded. Dry whey decreased 2 cents with seven loads traded. Cheese exports during March totaled 41,693 metric tons, up 13% from March 2021. Whey exports totaled 52,374 metric tons, up 1% from a year ago. Dry whey exports were down 18% at 19,538 metric tons. Modified whey increased 19% to 17,433 metric tons. Whey protein concentrate totaled 15,303 metric tons, up 14%.

BUTTER

For the week, butter declined 3.50 cents with 14 loads traded. Grade A nonfat dry milk declined 1.50 cents with 12 loads traded. Butterfat exports in March totaled 7,230 metric tons, up 59% from March 2021. Whole milk powder exports declined 13% to 3,813 metric tons. Nonfat dry milk/skim milk powder exports declined 7% to 80,160 metric tons. Milk protein concentrate declined 2% to 3,792 metric tons.

OUTSIDE MARKETS:

The June U.S. Dollar Index is trading down 0.177 at 103.625. June crude oil gained $1.51, closing at $109.77 per barrel. The Dow declined 99 points, ending at 32,899, while the NASDAQ declined 173 points, closing at 12,145. June gold is up $7.90 at $1,883.60, July silver is down $0.08 at $22.36 and July copper is down $0.0470 at $4.2445. June heating oil is down $0.0819, June RBOB is up $0.1108 and June natural gas is down $0.710.