10/8/26 Cattle Chatter: Is the Cattle Market Setting Up for a Sideways Chop?

Is the cattle market setting up for a period of sideways trade? On this week’s Cattle Chatter, Brad Kooima with Kooima Kooima Varilek takes a closer look at the fundamentals and explains why he’s not particularly friendly toward the market right now. He discusses what happens when slaughter numbers increase and boxed beef prices struggle to sustain current levels, along with what he’s seeing in Iowa and the latest trends in national average carcass weights. Pasture conditions remain a concern for producers, and viewers are also asking about the growing role of beef-on-dairy cattle. Could that changing supply mix eventually alter what has traditionally been considered the price structure for fed cattle? Brad tackles those questions and more in this week’s Cattle Chatter.