2/20/2026 Market Commentary

Live Cattle: Live Cattle futures finished the week lower and filled the gaps left at the beginning of the week. Cash trade was slow to develop this week but the North did trade cattle today while the South is still holding for better money. The bulk of the trade in the North took place at 247 on a live basis and 388 on a dressed basis. Currently, the feed yards in the South are priced at 250 to 252 while the packers are bidding 249. This week’s slaughter is estimated at just 516,000 head which would be 25,000 head less than a week ago. The packers continue to slow down the chain speed to help string out the inventory of ready fat cattle. There are a few packers that are taking entire days out of their kill schedule for maintenance or updates within the plants. Boxed beef was mixed this week with choice gaining $2.28 and was quoted at $366.67 this morning. Select lost $2.24 on the week and is currently at $361.05. Today’s Cattle on Feed Report showed cattle on feed down 1.8% compared to a year ago which aligned with the pre-report estimates. Texas continues to have less cattle on feed compared to a year ago, and currently have 7% less cattle on feed than February 1, 2025.

Feeder Cattle: Feeder Cattle futures finished the day lower as traders were in risk off mode heading into the weekend ahead of the Cattle on Feed Report. The CME Feeder Cattle index finally broke through the old record that was set in October and has now posted two new records to end the week. Yesterday, the index was quoted at $376.92 which took out the old record of $376.51, and today the index is quoted at $377.37 through yesterday’s sales. Today’s Cattle on Feed Report showed placements for the month of January down 4.7% compared to a year ago, or 86,000 head. The pre-report estimates were for placements to be 3.3% less than a year ago. Iowa placed just 87% of the cattle that they did a year ago while Nebraska was 7% less. In the southern states, Texas placed 2% less cattle into feed yards and Kansas saw an 11% drop.

Lean Hogs: Lean Hog futures finished higher each day this week following seven consecutive lower closes to start the month. Open interest continues to escape the complex and was down over 14,000 contracts yesterday after the February contract expiration. Total volume within the Lean Hog was just over 43,000 contracts yesterday which is quite low compared to the last two weeks and the lowest total in two months. The cash fundamentals have began to work higher and have helped solidify the change in direction of the futures market. The pork cutout continues to trade in the mid $90 range and has now traded between $93 and $97 for five weeks. Total slaughter is estimated at 2,516,000 head this week, which is 19,000 higher than a week ago. Today’s CFTC Report showed the managed money as sellers of 16,820 contracts on the week, lowering their net long position to 116,461 contracts.

Corn: Corn futures have found support from the wheat markets the last three days and have now pushed back above technical resistance areas. The main focus and topic within the grain markets continues to be China and exports to the country. This morning, the Supreme Court ruled that President Trump’s tariffs are unconstitutional and the markets saw a widespread sell off but ultimately recovered towards the end of the day. Ethanol production for the week was slightly higher than the prior week but still well above year ago levels. The Corn market has failed to sustain rallies over the past few weeks, but after today’s move higher the technical picture looks much better. If the highs for the month of February can be taken out, it would open the door to return to the range set prior to the January WASDE Report.