U.S. Meat Prices Pull Back in September

Photo of Paul Ausick
By Paul Ausick Updated Published
This post may contain links from our sponsors and affiliates, and Flywheel Publishing may receive compensation for actions taken through them.

Cattle
Thinkstock
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) released its preliminary report on September farm prices Monday afternoon. The all-products price index fell 2.8% month-over-month to 106, with the crop index down 3.3% and the livestock index unchanged. The September all-products index is up 3 points year-over-year. The index uses prices from 2011 as its base value (100).

The USDA noted that September’s higher prices for broilers, milk, strawberries, and apples offset lower prices for corn, hogs, soybeans, and cattle. Prices paid by farmers in the month fell were flat with August at 111 and 4 index points higher compared with September 2013.

The price farmers received for livestock is 21% higher than it was a year ago and the price for meat animals is 23% higher. The September hog price is down $9.80 per hundredweight since August, but up $2.70 compared with September 2013. Beef prices are up $34 per hundredweight compared with the September 2013 price and down $2 compared with last month.

Both corn and wheat prices remain significantly lower than they were a year ago, with year-over-year all wheat prices down $1.08 a bushel at $5.72 and feed corn down $2.02 at $3.38 a bushel.

Dairy prices are up 3.3% month-over-month and up 24% year-over-year.

The prices farmers paid for feeder pigs dropped from $199 per hundredweight in September to $168. Feeder cattle prices rose $7 per hundredweight to $234 in September.

Here is how some agriculture-related ETFs are trading today:

The Market Vectors Agribusiness ETF (NYSEMKT: MOO) is down about 0.3% at $52.85 in a 52-week range of $49.67 to $55.55.

The PowerShares DB Agriculture fund (NYSEMKT: DBA) trades up 1.5% at $25.68 in a 52-week range of $24.04 to $29.41. Volume is more than double the daily average of around 520,000 shares.

The Teucrium Corn Fund (NYSEMKT: CORN) is up 0.7% today at $23.15 in a 52-week range of $22.94 to $35.79.

The Teucrium Wheat Fund (NYSEMKT: WEAT) trades up about 1.2% on Monday at $10.91 in a 52-week range is $10.64 to $17.69.

ALSO READ:

Photo of Paul Ausick
About the Author Paul Ausick →

Paul Ausick has been writing for a673b.bigscoots-temp.com for more than a decade. He has written extensively on investing in the energy, defense, and technology sectors. In a previous life, he wrote technical documentation and managed a marketing communications group in Silicon Valley.

He has a bachelor's degree in English from the University of Chicago and now lives in Montana, where he fishes for trout in the summer and stays inside during the winter.

Featured Reads

Our top personal finance-related articles today. Your wallet will thank you later.

Continue Reading

Top Gaining Stocks

CBOE Vol: 1,568,143
PSKY Vol: 12,285,993
STX Vol: 7,378,346
ORCL Vol: 26,317,675
DDOG Vol: 6,247,779

Top Losing Stocks

LKQ
LKQ Vol: 4,367,433
CLX Vol: 13,260,523
SYK Vol: 4,519,455
MHK Vol: 1,859,865
AMGN Vol: 3,818,618