By: NATHAN STUEDLE
GRAINS:
March corn down 24 1/4 cents per bushel, March soybeans were down 13 1/2 cents, March KC wheat was down 3 1/2 cents, March Chicago wheat was down 6 cents and March Minneapolis wheat was down 1 1/4 cents.
Corn, soybeans and wheat all fell hard at midday following the shockingly bearish yield, production, stocks and acreage reports from the USDA. Corn and soy yields hit records, with corn production and December 1 stocks reaching the same milestone. Harvested corn acres also surged by an unexpected 1.3 million acres, while both soybean and wheat ending stocks also rose.
LIVESTOCK:
The live cattle complex was mostly higher moving into Monday's closing bell, as traders were pleased to see that after Friday's close, the fed cash cattle market did see higher prices in the South. It seems as though traders have been reluctant to overly advance the contracts without seeing more robust fundamental support. Monday's WASDE report shared mostly supportive news for the cattle and beef markets of 2026. Beef production for 2026 was increased by 10 million pounds as carcass weights continue to grow bigger. Beef imports for 2026 were increased by 75 million pounds as shipments from Oceania and South America are expected to continue. Beef exports for 2026 were decreased by 60 million pounds as the price of beef remains a limiting export factor. Boxed beef prices are higher: choice up $1.64 ($357.27) and select up $3.17 ($355.34) with a movement of 22 loads (14.54 loads of choice, 3.46 loads of select, zero loads of trim and 3.95 loads of ground beef).
The feeder cattle complex also traded mostly higher into Monday's close, despite the fact that some of the furthest deferred months were trading slightly lower. Much like the live cattle complex, the feeder cattle complex again seems willing to advance the contracts -- but is hungry to see more fundamental support as the market is facing some new resistance. Thankfully feeder cattle demand was strong last week and hopefully buyers will meet sales with the same level of enthusiasm as they did last week.
The lean hog complex continued to trade lower as the market simply hasn't seen enough fundamental support for traders to feel comfortable pushing the market back up to its resistance threshold. Last week packers weren't very aggressive in the cash market, so one would assume they'll need to be more active this week. But so far they aren't showing much interest.