DTN Midday Livestock Comments          10/12 11:40

   Livestock Traders Gingerly Enter the New Week

   Following last week's exciting rally, the cattle contracts are now trading 
lower, hoping that fundamental support will reassure them that last week's move 
was wise. 

ShayLe Stewart
DTN Livestock Analyst

GENERAL COMMENTS:

   Take a more cautious approach to Monday's market following the big gains 
seen late last week in the cattle complex; both the live cattle and feeder 
cattle contracts are trading lower into midday Monday. New showlists for the 
week are lighter in Texas and Kansas, but steady in Nebraska. December corn is 
up 3 3/4 cents per bushel and December soybean meal is up $2.70. The Dow Jones 
Industrial Average is up 257.80 points and the NASDAQ is down 59.98 points. 

LIVE CATTLE:

   Following last week's bold rally on Friday, fueled by the excitement and 
hope that the fed cash cattle market may be able to hold steady, the live 
cattle contracts are now trading lower as traders hope that some fundamental 
support will arise this week to complement the move. October live cattle are 
down $0.72 at $224.25, December live cattle are down $0.97 at $226.10 and 
February live cattle are down $0.45 at $229.02. New showlists for the week are 
lighter in Texas and Kansas, but steady in Nebraska. No cash cattle trade has 
developed yet this week, and it's most likely that trade will be delayed until 
later in the week. 

   Boxed beef prices are higher: choice up $1.93 ($375.28) and select up $0.47 
($354.77) with a movement of 42 loads (23.22 loads of choice, 5.43 loads of 
select, 5.77 loads of trim and 7.44 loads of ground beef).

FEEDER CATTLE:

   Following last Friday's powerful rally, which pushed the feeder cattle 
contracts mostly $7.00 higher, the feeder cattle contracts are taking a more 
cautious approach to Monday's open as traders would like to see some 
fundamental support to ensure them that they made a sound decision late last 
week. October feeder cattle are down $1.82 at $342.02, November feeder cattle 
are down $1.97 at $339.97 and January feeder cattle are down $0.97 at $335.37. 
And unless the live cattle contracts turn higher, it's unlikely that the feeder 
cattle contracts will change their direction later this afternoon. 

LEAN HOGS:

   Following last week's descent, the lean hog contracts have found some light 
trader support in Monday's market. October lean hogs are up $0.27 at $75.32, 
December lean hogs are up $0.77 at $68.60 and February lean hogs are up $1.00 
at $70.25. But it is worth noting that pork cutout values are up over $4.00 
this morning -- which has been the market's Achilles' heel as traders yearn to 
see stronger consumer demand. The projected lean hog index for 10/9/2026 is 
down $1.10 at $76.51 and the actual index for 10/8/2026 is down $0.80 at 
$77.61. Hog prices are unavailable on the Daily Direct Morning Hog Report 
because of confidentiality. However, we can see that only 362 head have traded 
and that the market's five-day rolling average sits at $74.79. Pork cutouts 
total 149.30 loads, with 136.36 loads of pork cuts and 12.95 loads of trim. 
Pork cutout values: up $4.72, $85.22.

   ShayLe Stewart can be reached shayle.stewart@dtn.com




(c) Copyright 2026 DTN, LLC. All rights reserved.