US livestock market to endure harsh winter

One of the stormiest winters in years for much of the US is wreaking havoc on the nation's livestock and energy markets and there may be at least three more weeks of cold, snowy weather.

Cold and snow blanketed much of the central US this winter slowing weight gains in cattle and hogs, delaying livestock sales, and increasing feed costs for producers.

As the Mid-Atlantic states dig out from Saturday's (Feb 6) blizzard, another potentially crippling winter storm was on the way and might also hit the Northeast, the nation's largest market for heating fuel, which the weekend blast largely bypassed.

New York heating oil and natural gas prices rose in the morning as talk circulated the cold may last through February.

Winter wheat in the Plains was aided by the snow, which insulated the crop during the cold and will ensure plentiful crop moisture this spring.

In the Texas panhandle, cattle in feedlots are weighing 40 to 60 pounds less than expected, as they had to trudge through muddy pens and endure damp, cold conditions.

Cattle have been stressed in Kansas, Nebraska, and Oklahoma. In Nebraska, the No. 2 cattle state, there have been abnormal amounts of cold and snow.

The slow down in cattle performance led to higher cattle prices, with sales of US$87 per hundredweight last week in the Plains, up US$1 to US$2 from the previous week. Worries about weather-delayed hog marketings sent Chicago hog futures sharply higher on Monday (Feb 8), to their highest levels in more than a week.

Most Midwest hogs are raised indoors, but the weather has still slowed weight gains, while drifting snow has prevented trucks from delivering hogs to market. In Iowa, the cold was only one reason for the lower weights. Low quality feed corn and sickness among some of the herds also has slowed gains.