DTN Early Word Livestock Comments      05/22 06:15
   Livestock Futures Remain Choppy

   Live and feeder cattle futures showed an unusual divergence Wednesday with
live cattle higher and feeder cattle lower. Some light cash trade took place at
$2.00 higher than last week. Hogs fell back after trying to post gains. Traders
needed to see positive cutout prices, but that failed to materialize.

Robin Schmahl
DTN Contributing Analyst

   Cattle: Higher         Futures: Higher       Live Equiv: $262.38 +$1.12*

   Hogs: Lower             Futures: Mixed      Lean Equiv: $105.86 -$0.48**

   *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:

   The continued strength of boxed beef supported live cattle Wednesday.
Support also stemmed from some light cash trades that were $2.00 higher. Even
though packers had purchased supplies for later delivery, they seemed to be
intent on keeping a cushion of supply and are willing to pay higher prices to
maintain it. Boxed beef continues to trend higher, with choice up $0.84 and
select up $3.32. There seems to be no ceiling on what consumers are willing to
pay for beef. This may change after the Memorial Day weekend, as beef demand
might slow for the summer. Light cash trade took place in the North on
Wednesday at $2.00 higher. This was not enough to determine the trend, but it
does provide support. The Cattle on Feed report will be released on Friday. The
estimates are for on-feed numbers as of May 1 at 98.5% of a year ago,
placements at 96.9%, and cattle marketed in April at 96.7%.