Beef Industry Charts

The CME Feeder Cattle Futures Settlement Prices are based on the CME Feeder Cattle Index. This index, in turn, is calculated on the 7-day moving average of cash salebarn sales in cattle country.

The dramatic down turn in the Feeder Cattle Index started in October 2007 and continued through Mid-January 2008. Preliminary analysis suggests that the feeder cattle price index has turned upward again in late January 2008.

I am expecting this index to peak in 2008 near grass time at $8-$10 under the 2007 peak but near the grass time level of 2007. What happens after that, depends of the weather scares in corn country.