DTN Early Word Livestock Comments      08/13 06:21
   Cattle Futures Have Little Reason to Rebound

   Cattle futures began the day where they had left off, but then came under
pressure during the first 15 minutes of trading. A beef recall and a packing
plant cutting production triggered the selling.

Robin Schmahl
DTN Contributing Analyst

   Cattle: Lower           Futures: Mixed      Live Equiv: $271.87 +$0.50*

   Hogs: Steady            Futures: Lower      Lean Equiv: $107.16 -$1.33**

   *Based on the formula estimating live cattle equivalent of gross packer
revenue. (The Live Cattle Equiv. The index has been updated to depict recent
changes in live cattle weights and grading percentages.)

   ** based on formula estimating lean hog equivalent of gross packer revenue.

GENERAL COMMENTS:

   Cattle futures began Wednesday nearly where they had left off, but dropped
significantly during the first 5 minutes of trade and continued lower for the
next 10 minutes, remaining choppy for the rest of the session. The selling
seems to have been triggered by the news of 30,000 pounds of beef from
Argentina being recalled. The news of a major packing plant in Kansas reducing
production time this week added to the uncertainty. The follow-up bearishness
came from the jump in grain prices after the World Agricultural Supply and
Demand Estimates (WASDE) report was released. This kept futures from recovering
the losses. Some light cash cattle traded on Wednesday at lower prices, which
may have set the stage for the rest of the week. Both live and feeder cattle
futures closed at the lowest level since the end of July. Boxed beef prices
were higher, with choice up $0.97 and select up $0.01.