MONDAY, DECEMBER 8

Compared to last week, steer and heifer calves along with yearlings sold mostly all 10.00-25.00 higher, and places were even stronger than trends indicated. With only a couple more weeks of marketing activity or shopping left before buyers and sellers start winding down for the Christmas and New Years holidays. The previous week's cattle futures had a Thanksgiving treat as futures closed the last two sessions of that week with sharp gains. The market pretty much picked up from there to start the week with buyers feeling much better about the market with more optimism as they turned into eager buyers as cattle futures also picked up sharply as the week went on. The fed cattle market also picked up by late week with live cattle fed sales in the North on Thursday mostly from 220.00-222.00, followed by 225.00 on Friday afternoon with dressed sales at 340.00-345.00, both prices 10.00-15.00 higher also giving a boost to the feeder market. The market saw some very impressive prices all across the trade area with some very high prices on light calves in Torrington, WY on Wednesday at Torrington Livestock sold 154 hd of 350-400 lb calves averaging 377 lbs sold for a weighted average price of 595.69. On Thursday at Ogallala Livestock Market in Ogallala, NE sold 172 hd of 300-350 lb calves averaging 337 lbs for a weighted price of 671.63 and 254 hd of their bigger brothers weighing between 400-450 lbs averaging 408 lbs for a weighted price of 581.48. In Philip, SD at the Philip Livestock market sold many top quality home raised calves with shots, had 470 hd of 550-600 lb steers averaging 575 lbs selling for a weighted average price of 445.47. In Mobridge, SD at the Mobridge Livestock Exchange sold 970 top quality steer calves between 550-600 lbs averaging 578 lbs for a weighted price of 451.68. Ft. Pierre, SD on Friday at the FT. Pierre Livestock Market sold 565 hd of spayed heifers weighing between 850-900 lbs averaging 884 lbs for a weighted average price of 353.19. Heading down south on Tuesday at the Blue Grass Stockyards in Lexington, KY sold 66 steers weighing 796 lbs at 352.00 and 61 hd weighing 869 lbs at 345.00. In Savannah, TN at the Hardin County Stockyards on Wednesday sold 211 hd of value-added steers weighing 728 lbs at 363.75. The bell ringer of the week was in Bassett, NE where the market hit some of the highest prices reported with 273 hd of fancy steers weighing between 550-600 lbs averaging 567 lbs for a weighted average price of 506.41, 225 hd of fancy steers averaging 621 lbs for a weighted average price of 500.00 and 80 hd of fancy steers weighing 702 lbs at 421.00. The list of impressive prices goes on but it was safe to say there was very good demand on a lot of high-quality calves and yearlings as farmer feeders and backgrounders were especially active in some of their last opportunities to invest money in cattle before the end of the year. This was also the first week of fridged temperatures and snow across the Plains and Mid-West hit this week. Boxed-beef values on Friday had Choice closing 1.52 lower at 361.20 that was 5.62 lower than last Friday's close and Select on Friday closing 2.93 lower at 347.39, 3.66 lower on the week. Weekly Cattle Slaughter under Federal Inspection was estimated at 600K, 102K more than last week and 14K less than last year. Auction volume this week included 50 percent over 600 lbs and 38 percent heifers. read more here

Trump’s Farm Aid

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This week, President Trump announced a $12 billion farm aid package alongside Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins, and National Economic Council Director Kevin Hassett. The administration has described the payments as a short-term bridge as producers head into spring financing and 2026 crop planning. The payment estimates are expected in January and USDA has said funds should begin landing in accounts in late February.

About $11 billion of the package is aimed at major row crops like corn, soybeans, and rice, with roughly $1 billion set aside for specialty crops. Farmers and economists have largely welcomed the relief, but many point out that it won’t fully offset the year’s damage. As we’ve all personally experienced and factors that we know well are that losses are driven by low prices, higher input costs, and lost export opportunities tied to ongoing trade disputes.

Soybeans are a clear example of the strain: China paused U.S. soybean buying for months, and while purchases have resumed, producers say it has been uneven and smaller than normal. China has made commitments to buy U.S. soybeans again, millions of tons in the near term and more over the next several years, but many farmers are still “trading on headlines” while bins stay full.

The takeaway I keep hearing is simple: producers appreciate a bridge, but they’d rather have stable markets and better trade policy than repeated one-time checks. Our farmers and ranchers are skilled businessmen, and each and every one of them wears dozens of hats to keep the operations running.

Sources: NPR, Reuters