06/13/05 Cattle market faces BSE development

06/13/05 Cattle market faces BSE development

Marketline June 13, 2005 Cattle markets begin this week with the news that a downer cow of U.S. origin could potentially have had BSE. The news broke late Friday that at the request of the USDA's Inspector General testing was redone on three cows that were inconclusive and later confirmed negative for BSE in 2004. One of the three samples came back positive on the retest and further testing is being done on it in England. None of the meat from the suspect cow entered the food chain because she was a downer. Before that news Friday cattle futures had closed mixed supported by news that cash cattle had traded at 86 dollars. Aug live cattle unchanged at 82-13. Aug feeders up a nickel at 111-25. July Class III milk down a dime at 13-85. In the grains, wheat futures were mixed Friday following USDA's June crop report. USDA trimmed the U.S. winter wheat crop three percent from the May estimate to 1.55 billion bushels and cut both old and new crop ending stocks. PNW wheat yields were increased from last month. Gary Hofer of Gary Hofer Commodities says Portland soft white wheat is at its lowest levels in months. Hofer: "The risk for white wheat prices is the difference between current levels and loan. And that is quite at bit at over 40-cents per bushel." On Friday Chicago July wheat was down 3/4 of a cent at 3-13 ½. July corn down 5 ½ at 2-10. Portland cash white wheat steady to two cents lower at mostly 3-85. New crop August 3-74. Club wheat 3-88. PNW HRW 11.5 percent protein lower at 3-92. Dark northern spring 14% protein up a penny at 5-04. Export barley 102 dollars a ton. I'm Bob Hoff and that's Marketline on the Northwest Ag Information Network.
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