Cattle Markets Crash as Plant Shutdowns Pressure Sentiment

If you would like to receive more information on the commodity markets, please use the link to join our email list  - Sign Up Now

For those interested I hold a weekly livestock webinar on Tuesdays. My next webinar will be Tuesday, August 14, 2026, at 3:15 pm.  If you cannot attend live a recording will be sent to your email upon completion of the webinar.

Sign Up Now

The Cattle futures markets gap opened lower on Friday, breaking down to new lows for the down move as rumors turned into fact with Tyson shutting down 2 plants and selling a third processing plant. The rumors were for one plant to close and the announcement that there will be two plant shutdowns sent the markets lower in my opinion. The plants affected are its Joslin, Illinois beef facility and its Eagle Mountain, Utah case ready facility. It will sell its Pasco, Washington beef facility. To compensate for the shutdowns it will add a second shift to its Amarillo, Texas plant as cattle become available. They say they will have a similar level of processing across a more efficient and modern grouping of facilities. The news pressured futures right from the open with October Live Cattle breaking down to its low at 215.225 and Feeder Cattle falling to its low at 328.075 during the first hour and a half of trading. These are the lowest prices of 2026 for the lead contract. The futures markets staged a short-covering rally to the end of the session with both markets closing their gaps made on the open with the session highs. October Live Cattle traded to 219.45, and September Feeder Cattle reached 335.40 at its high. Settlement were near the highs, with October Live Cattle at 218.875 and September Feeder Cattle at 334.55. This summer has seen constant rhetoric about lowering beef prices as beef prices in the grocery stores continued to climb to sky high prices as cutout prices stayed in a range. The government has worked to bring more imports into the US and are always talking about how they are working to lower beef prices. We’ve seen screwworm come into the US with that leadup putting fear into the market and driving cattle prices lower. Prices recovered a bit from the reality of the screwworm. We’ve seen the markets break down with the announcement of the border reopening for the Douglas, Arizona port with Mexico. It remains to be seen what numbers will come in from Mexico. With cash and futures both breaking down. We have seen the cutout price remain in its trading range making its seasonal dips and highs. We continue to see sky high prices in the grocery stores; however, these haven’t come down with all-time highs made on a continuous basis this year. But we’ve seen cattle cash prices crash, futures crash and cutouts stay in its range. The constant barrage hasn’t pressured beef prices but has put producers on the precipice and how is that going to help rebuild the US cattle herd? We’ll see!... If settlement holds for September Feeder Cattle, it could test resistance at 335.975 and then 337.575. A failure from settlement could see price revisit the 332.05 support level. Support then comes in at 329.075. If October Live Cattle can take out the Friday high, it could test resistance at 220.05. Resistance then comes in at 223.275.

The Feeder Cattle Index fell and is at 348.50 as of 08/13/2026 settlement. 

Boxed beef cutouts were mixed as choice cutouts decreased 0.60 to 375.30 and select increased 2.00 to 351.24. The choice/ select spread narrowed and is at 24.06 and the load count was 76.

Friday’s estimated slaughter is 100,000, which is above last week’s 95,000 and last year’s 83,584. Saturday slaughter is expected to be 1,000, which is even with last week and below last year’s 2,129. The estimated total for the week (so far) is 517,000, which is above last week’s 509,000 and below last year’s 535,913.

The USDA report LM_Ct131 states: So far for Friday, negotiated cash trade has been limited on moderate demand in Nebraska and the Western Cornbelt. There have been a few live purchases in Nebraska from 225.00-228.00, but not enough for an adequate market test. The last established market test in Nebraska was Thursday with live purchases at mostly 228.00 and dressed purchases from mostly 362.00-365.00. There have been a few live purchases at 223.00 in the Western Cornbelt, but not enough for an adequate market test. The last established market test in the Western Cornbelt was Thursday with live purchases from 228.00-230.00 and dressed purchases from mostly 362.00-368.00. Negotiated cash trade has been limited on light demand in Kansas. The last established market test in Kansas was last week with live purchases at 235.00.

The USDA is indicating cash trades for live cattle from 223.00 – 235.00 and from 351.00 – 380.00 on a dressed basis (so far) for the week.

**Call me for a free consultation for a marketing plan regarding your livestock needs.**

Ben DiCostanzo

Senior Livestock Analyst

Walsh Trading, Inc.

Direct: 312.957.4163

888.391.7894

Fax: 312.256.0109

bdicostanzo@walshtrading.com

www.walshtrading.com

Walsh Trading, Inc. is registered as a Guaranteed Introducing Broker with the Commodity Futures Trading Commission and an NFA Member.​
Futures and options trading involves substantial risk and is not suitable for all investors. Therefore, individuals should carefully consider their financial condition in deciding whether to trade. Option traders should be aware that the exercise of a long option will result in a futures position. The valuation of futures and options may fluctuate, and as a result, clients may lose more than their original investment. The information contained on this site is the opinion of the writer or was obtained from sources cited within the commentary. The impact on market prices due to seasonal or market cycles and current news events may already be reflected in market prices. PAST PERFORMANCE IS NOT NECESSARILY INDICATIVE OF FUTURE RESULTS.​

All information, communications, publications, and reports, including this specific material, used and distributed by Walsh Trading, Inc. (“WTI”) shall not be construed as a solicitation for entering into a derivatives transaction. WTI does not distribute research reports, employ research analysts, or maintain a research department as defined in CFTC Regulation 1.71.