By comparison, both pork and broiler retail prices declined in November compared with the prior month.
Cattle on feed summary
The USDA released the December Cattle on Feed (COF) report on Friday afternoon last week. The report appeared to be on the bullish side, as the report's headline numbers all came in on the favorable side of expectations. November placements were down just over 3 percent compared to an average pre-report estimate that placements would be about even.
Marketing were down 4.5 percent compared to last year, well to the high side of pre-report estimates. The total on-feed inventory was down 5.5 percent from a year ago, at the low end of pre-report estimates. The table below summarizes the COF headline numbers.
Summary of December Cattle on Feed Report: USDA vs. Pre-report est.
| Number (1,000 Head) | % of 2012 | Pre-report range | |
| On-feed Dec. 1 | 10,725 | 94.5 | 94.4 - 96.1 |
| Placed in November | 1,882 | 96.9 | 95.0 - 104.2 |
| Marketed in November | 1,681 | 95.5 | 93.7 - 95.7 |
* Urner-Berry through Livestock Marleting Information Center
The markets
Fed cattle prices just held on to the $130 mark last week. Through last Thursday, the 5-Area average price worked out to $130.03 in light trade, down just a few cents from last week and off from the fall high of $132.66 in the last week of November, but obviously not too shabby. Wholesale beef prices continued to slip this week. The choice cutout started the week at just under $200 per hundredweight and finished the week at $196.79.
The pork cutout fared still worse, declining from $91.14 on Monday to finish the week at $85.39 on Friday. Calf markets were shut down completely the week of Christmas, and many key markets (e.g., Oklahoma City) will miss two weeks of sales for the holidays. So in the last significant calf trading of the year last week, prices ended the year on a high note.
In the National Feeder and Stocker Cattle Summary for last week, calf prices were called $5 to $10 higher on steers and $2 to $5 higher on heifers. Feeder prices were steady to $5 higher. The prices may have reflected a bit of pent-up demand as nasty weather over most of the country in the week prior had made doing business difficult and, in some cases, had kept auction barns completely closed. 
– John D. Anderson is a deputy chief economist for the American Farm Bureau Federation. This appeared in the In the Cattle Markets e-newsletter for Livestock Marketing Information Center.
