Cash cattle prices climb, but futures show caution amid volatility
- amy55735
- Jun 5
- 1 min read
Cash-fed cattle on the negotiated market traded $221 to $223 per hundredweight in the South, $1 to $3 higher than the week prior. In the North, cattle traded $234 to $236 per hundredweight, $3 to $5 higher. Dressed trade occurred at $368 to $375 per hundredweight, $3 to $10 higher than the previous range.
The Kansas-Nebraska fed steer price spread widened to—$12 per hundredweight this week, with Kansas under Nebraska. A wider-than-normal spread in the spring has been a trend over the last three years, with the three-year average coming in at—$5.69 per hundredweight. This is largely a function of the greater volume of cattle traded on the cash market in the North, an advantage during times of tightening supplies. The higher quality of cattle in the North also likely contributes to the price difference.
Analysts estimated weekly slaughter at 477,000 head, a record low for the holiday-shortened week. Outside of 2020, when the pandemic altered patterns, the previous record was in 2016 at 527,500 head.
Trey Freeman
June 4, 2025
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