The Cattle Market Guys Podcast
Jul 31, 2026 · 11 min · 9 segments
``` Cattle futures just snapped a brutal 15-day losing streak, feeder cattle prices are sliding fast on lighter weights, and the US-Mexico border is finally set to reopen for cattle trade after…
HerdAdvisor.com. Well, welcome back to Cattle Market, guys, and we've got a lot to unpack this week.
Let's start with the snapshots.
Looking at the numbers out of the feeder cattle sales, we're seeing 500 to 549 weight steers trading around $419.18 per hundred weight.
That's for the week of July 19th.
But here's the thing.
That's actually down from $433.62 the week before and down further from $452.89 just three weeks ago.
We're looking at a pretty clear downward trend on the lighter weights.
That's a fast slide for those little calves.
It is.
And it's not isolated to the lighter end either.
The 600 to 649 weight steers came in at $385.52, down from $401.50 the prior week.
According to the data, futures have been sliding right alongside the cash market, front month settling around $346.93, down from $360.89 just a few weeks back.
The article from Beef Magazine confirms live cattle futures just ended a 15-day losing streak, so this weakness has been baked in for a while now.
15 days straight, huh? That's about as useful as a screen door on a submarine, watching that thing just keep sliding.
Exactly, but here's the interesting part.
The predictions data is showing some stabilization coming.
The one-week national prediction for those 500 to 549 weight steers sits at $410.32, and it actually climbs to $431.53 by the two-week mark.
So the models are calling for a bounce back after this recent softness.
Volume's been average across most of these sales, though we did see some lighter volume weeks back in late June that might have contributed to some of the price choppiness.
Jim, you've watched enough of these thin volume stretches.
Does that track with what you'd expect?
Lighter volume always makes for a nervous market.
That's a fair point.
And speaking of that recovery, the article notes August live cattle settled at $227.75, up $2.65 for the week, and the deferred contracts October through February rose $1.72 to $1.80.
HerdAdvisor.com. Well, welcome back to Cattle Market, guys, and we've got a lot to unpack this week.
Let's start with the snapshots.
Looking at the numbers out of the feeder cattle sales, we're seeing 500 to 549 weight steers trading around $419.18 per hundred weight.
That's for the week of July 19th.
But here's the thing.
That's actually down from $433.62 the week before and down further from $452.89 just three weeks ago.
We're looking at a pretty clear downward trend on the lighter weights.
That's a fast slide for those little calves.
It is.
And it's not isolated to the lighter end either.
The 600 to 649 weight steers came in at $385.52, down from $401.50 the prior week.
According to the data, futures have been sliding right alongside the cash market, front month settling around $346.93, down from $360.89 just a few weeks back.
The article from Beef Magazine confirms live cattle futures just ended a 15-day losing streak, so this weakness has been baked in for a while now.
15 days straight, huh? That's about as useful as a screen door on a submarine, watching that thing just keep sliding.
Exactly, but here's the interesting part.
The predictions data is showing some stabilization coming.
The one-week national prediction for those 500 to 549 weight steers sits at $410.32, and it actually climbs to $431.53 by the two-week mark.
So the models are calling for a bounce back after this recent softness.
Volume's been average across most of these sales, though we did see some lighter volume weeks back in late June that might have contributed to some of the price choppiness.
Jim, you've watched enough of these thin volume stretches.
Does that track with what you'd expect?
Lighter volume always makes for a nervous market.
That's a fair point.
And speaking of that recovery, the article notes August live cattle settled at $227.75, up $2.65 for the week, and the deferred contracts October through February rose $1.72 to $1.80.
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