**Live Cattle Futures Decline Amid Limited Cash Trade and Lockout at Cargill Plant**
On Wednesday, live cattle futures dropped significantly, with contracts falling between $1.52 and $4.10 by midday. Cash trade has been scarce this week, following sales last week ranging from $260 to $265. The Fed Cattle Exchange auction reported no sales from the 652 head offered, despite bids of $259 to $260. In parallel, feeder cattle futures also decreased, with upcoming May contracts seeing a modest increase of 82 cents.
In related news, Cargill’s Fort Morgan beef plant has initiated a lockout of employees after unsuccessful bargaining attempts. This 4,700 capacity plant’s closure will impact slaughter capabilities, although it is anticipated that cattle will be redistributed to other processing facilities. Meanwhile, USDA estimated federally inspected cattle slaughter for Tuesday at 110,000 head, with a total of 213,000 for the week—up 3,000 from the previous week but still down 23,103 compared to the same period last year.
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