Live cattle futures fell $2.10 to $5.05 at midday, while cash trade was reported at $230–$231 across the country last week. Feeder cattle futures collapsed on Monday, hitting the $10.75 daily limit with losses of $7.75. The CME Feeder Cattle Index dropped another $1.07 on July 23 to $349.65. Late Friday, the USDA announced plans to resume imports of Mexican cattle by August 23 at the Douglas, Arizona port of entry, with two additional ports in New Mexico to follow at a later date.
The Cattle on Feed report showed June placements down 2.91% year-over-year to 1.399 million head, while marketings fell 2.69% to 1.661 million head. The July 1 on-feed total rose 2.21% from 2025 to 11.37 million head. Heifers on feed accounted for 4.25 million, or 37.38% of the total—the lowest July ratio since 2018. The bi-annual Cattle inventory indicated 28.45 million beef cows, down 0.7% year-over-year, and replacement beef heifers increased 2.9% to 3.6 million head. The 2026 calf crop was estimated at 32.5 million head, 1.5% below the 2025 level.
USDA Cold Storage data showed beef stocks tightened 3.43% from the end of May to 389.23 million pounds as of June 30, a 2.76% decline from the same week a year ago.
The Friday Commitment of Traders report revealed that managed money slashed 20,961 contracts from their net long position in live cattle futures and options, reducing it to 75,363 contracts as of Tuesday. In feeder cattle futures and options, spec funds cut another 1,975 contracts from their net long, bringing the total to 7,905 contracts as of July 21.
Wholesale Boxed Beef prices were mixed in Monday morning’s report, with Choice boxes rising $1.72 to $362.96 and Select boxes falling a quarter to $346.46. Federal livestock auctions reported 528,000 head of federally inspected cattle slaughter for the prior week, up 3,000 head from the previous week but 15,766 head below the same week last year.
Specific futures contract levels included August 26 Live Cattle at 224.975, down 2.100; October 26 Live Cattle at 218.600, down 3.900; December 26 Live Cattle at 217.225, down 5.050; August 26 Feeder Cattle at 337.575, down 7.750; September 26 Feeder Cattle at 331.300, down 10.150; and October 26 Feeder Cattle at 325.250, down 10.750.
