market terminology

[xbred]

I saw a market listing of feeder cattle and live cattle.. feeder cattle at 111.125 and live catle at 102.95 what sex and weight are they listing ? I assume it's 500 lb. steers...i would have thought "live cattle" and "feeder cattle" were the same thing... what about "fat cattle", and cattle on the rail??

 

[larryshoat]

I saw a market listing of feeder cattle and live cattle.. feeder cattle at 111.125 and live catle at 102.95 what sex and weight are they listing ? I assume it's 500 lb. steers...i would have thought "live cattle" and "feeder cattle" were the same thing... what about "fat cattle", and cattle on the rail??

Well, I'll take a stab at this . Cattle terms can be confusing, if someone says cattle are 95 cents and someone else says cattle are 95 dollars we all just know that that is the same price, 95 cents per pound and 95 dollars per hundred pounds is the same .

Feeder cattle are cattle of both sexes that are sold to be fed out, generaly cattle that are less than 900 lbs, more typically 400-700 pounders .

"Live Cattle" usually refer to CME live contract prices .

Fat cattle are cattle that are ready or soon will be ready for slaughter .

I'm sure terms vary somewhat around the country, around here if you say colored cattle, that means not holsteins .

Larry