What is the difference between live cattle and feeder cattle?
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What is the difference between live cattle and feeder cattle?
Feeder cattle are weaned calves just sent to the feedlots (about 6-10 months old), and live cattle are cattle which have attained a desirable weight (850-1,000 pounds for heifers, and 1,000-1,200 pounds for steers), to be sold to a packer. The packer slaughters the cattle and sells the meat in carcass boxed form.
What is live cattle price mean?
Basis is the difference between cash price and futures price. More specifically, it is the difference between today’s local cash price and today’s futures price of the futures contract with maturity closest to the present time.
How is live cattle sold?
Once the cattle reach slaughter weight, they are sold as live cows either directly to a packer or through an auction. Packers slaughter the live cows and sell all the meat and by-products from the animals.
What is live cattle future?
Live cattle futures are standardized, exchange-traded contracts on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME). The contracts represent the delivery of full-grown cattle that are ready to be sold to meat processors, having reached a weight of between around 1,200 and 1,400 pounds.
What are canner cows?
Canners are thin, emaciated cows which have lost muscle mass due to poor nutrition or health. Cutters are thin to moderate in flesh. Little muscle mass has been lost but no excess condition is being carried. Cows grading Utility carry higher levels of condition. (It is a fat cow grade.)
How do you trade live cattle?
One way to trade live cattle is through the use of a contract for difference (CFD) derivative instrument. CFDs allow traders to speculate on the price of live cattle. The value of a CFD is the difference between the price of live cattle at the time of purchase and its current price.
Where are live cattle traded?
the Chicago Mercantile Exchange
Live cattle futures and options are traded on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME), which introduced live cattle futures contracts in 1964. Contract prices are quoted in U.S. cents per pound.
What weight is a feeder calf?
calves up to 800 to 900 lb. yearlings. However, because packers prefer animals between 1,100 and 1,200 lbs., the most common weight of cattle placed on feed ranges from 500 to 700 lbs.
Is Live cattle a commodity?
Cattle are a valuable commodity across industries like agriculture, clothing, sporting goods, and even musical instruments. Feeder cattle are weaned calves that reach a weight of between 600 to 800 pounds. At this point, cattle producers feed them a diet of high-energy feed to promote weight gain.
What time of year do you butcher a cow?
Age at slaughter “typically” can be from 12 to 22 months of age for the high quality grade market. The reason for the range in age is that some calves are weaned and go directly to a feeding facility and are finished for slaughter.