Latest / Professional Ag Marketing Podcast / Cash Hogs Collapse, But Pork Prices Surge | The Opening Look

Transcript

Cash Hogs Collapse, But Pork Prices Surge | The Opening Look · Professional Ag Marketing Podcast

• 0:05
  SPEAKER_00: Trading commodity futures and options involves substantial risk of loss and is not suitable for all investors.
• 0:12
  SPEAKER_00: Hello world and good morning.
• 0:14
  SPEAKER_00: From our broadcast desk, this is the opening look for Tuesday, November 3rd, 2026.
• 0:20
  SPEAKER_00: I'm Nathan.
• 0:21
  SPEAKER_00: As a new day of commerce begins to unfold, we turn our attention to the vital agricultural pipelines that feed and fuel our nation.
• 0:28
  SPEAKER_00: In the next few minutes, we shall examine a highly active overnight session on the electronic exchanges, analyze a dramatic divergence between cash livestock, and wholesale meat values, and report on the rapid pace of autumn harvest across the American plains alongside a surging planting campaign in South America.
• 0:48
  SPEAKER_00: First, the overnight price action.
• 0:51
  SPEAKER_00: We turn our attention first to the overnight electronic boards, where grain traders have spent the night hours adjusting risk exposure.
• 1:00
  SPEAKER_00: The soybean complex is showing quiet resilience this morning, with January contract capturing a modest bid to advanced half a cent, trading at twelve seventeen and a quarter per bushel.
• 1:10
  SPEAKER_00: Conversely, December corn has met with some slight selling interest, giving up two and a half cents to find a temporary floor at four hundred forty-five and three quarters.
• 1:20
  SPEAKER_00: Shifting our gaze to the livestock trade, Monday's closing bells marked a period of consolidation to start the week.
• 1:26
  SPEAKER_00: In the swine pits, December lean hogs surrendered 70 cents to establish a settlement of 58.17 and a half.
• 1:34
  SPEAKER_00: Despite this minor setback in the nearby, the forward curve remains structurally sound as buyers continue to defend healthy premiums on the spring and summer contracts of 2027.
• 1:45
  SPEAKER_00: The cattle markets presented a divided front as the Monday book was closed.
• 1:50
  SPEAKER_00: December live cattle contracts gave up$1.25, crossing the finish line at$219.70.
• 1:56
  SPEAKER_00: Meanwhile, November feeder cattle bucked the downward trend, securing a 65 cent gain to wrap up the day's business at$338.42.5.
• 2:07
  SPEAKER_00: We turn now to the underlying supply and demand fundamentals, where a stark contrast is developing between raw livestock values and wholesale meat demand.
• 2:16
  SPEAKER_00: In the swine sector, cash hog prices suffered a severe blow, plunging a dramatic$10.28 to stand at a sluggish$50.1.
• 2:27
  SPEAKER_00: Yet, in a surprising twist, wholesale demand took a completely different story.
• 2:31
  SPEAKER_00: The afternoon pork cutout value surged$2.18, settling at$70 to$72.28 per hundredweight, driven by robust retail interest.
• 2:41
  SPEAKER_00: A similar trend emerged in the beef complex, where wholesale values found solid footing across a relatively light movement of 81 loads.
• 2:49
  SPEAKER_00: Choice box beef ticked up 38 cents to stand at 365.04.
• 2:54
  SPEAKER_00: Select box beef posted an even stronger performance, jumping 296 to settle at$354.94.
• 3:01
  SPEAKER_00: This narrowed the choice to select spread$10.10, signaling that retail buyers are actively seeking out value grade cuts.
• 3:11
  SPEAKER_00: In crop news, the USDA's weekly, latest weekly update reveals that the American autumn harvest is rapidly entering its final stretch.
• 3:20
  SPEAKER_00: As of Sunday, the nation's corn harvest reached 74% complete.
• 3:24
  SPEAKER_00: While that is a significant jump from 60% in the previous week and slightly ahead of trade expectations, it still trails the five-year historical average of 77%, largely due to persistent rain delays in Iowa, Nebraska, and South Dakota.
• 3:40
  SPEAKER_00: Meanwhile, the soybean harvest advanced to 88% complete, matching trade expectations and running ahead of the five-year average of 84%.
• 3:49
  SPEAKER_00: Winter wheat planting reached 83% complete, though it remained slightly behind the five-year average of 84%.
• 3:56
  SPEAKER_00: Across the equator, South American producers are wasting no time getting their next crop into the ground.
• 4:02
  SPEAKER_00: According to the private consultancy Egg Rural, Brazilian soybean planting has surged to 53% complete, up from 40% the prior week, and well ahead of last year's pace of 47%.
• 4:15
  SPEAKER_00: Despite some localized moisture imbalances with excessive rains in the south and dry pockets in the north, planting progress remains highly efficient.
• 4:23
  SPEAKER_00: Additionally, Brazil's first corn crop is now 63% planted, outpacing last year's progress of 59%, and signaling a strong start to the South American growing season.
• 4:37
  SPEAKER_00: As the opening bells prepare to sound across the exchanges, the American producer continues to navigate a fast-moving landscape of global competition, shifting weather patterns and evolving consumer demand.
• 4:49
  SPEAKER_00: It is an agricultural world defined by relentless volatility.
• 4:52
  SPEAKER_00: But from where I sit at this desk, there is no company better suited to help you manage that volatility, protect your operation, and secure your bottom line than professional ag marketing.
• 5:03
  SPEAKER_00: And that is the opening look for this Tuesday.
• 5:06
  SPEAKER_00: I'm Nathan.