Spring 2021 Webinar – Part I

June 8, 2021
WELCOME

• This session is being recorded live

• Participants are in listen-only mode

• Question and Answer segments– Use “Q&A” icon

• Audience Interactive Elements – Use “Poll” feature

• Follow up e-mail and participant’s survey

www.ams.usda.gov/grades-standards/beef/cattle-carcass-training-centers
Utilizing Livestock 

Mandatory Reporting 

Live Cattle Reports

Charlie Potts

USDA Agricultural Marketing Service

Livestock, Poultry and Grain Market News Division
LMR Live Cattle Reporting

Packers that slaughter 

125,000 head per year are 

required to report.

Currently 41 live cattle 

plants are covered.

LMR covers 92% of all fed 

cattle transactions.

LMR covers 33% of all cow 

and bull transactions
AMS’s role in LMR Live Cattle Reporting

The Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS)

• Administers the Livestock Mandatory Reporting (LMR) Act of 

1999 and regulations.

• Publishes 24 daily, 19 weekly, 12 monthly & 6 annual cattle 

reports under LMR

• Handles 5,000 to 8,000 records per day

• Audits firms to ensure report accuracy

• Preserves confidentiality of transactions
Purchase Types- Negotiated Cash

Negotiated Cash: Cash or spot market purchase where the price is 

determined through buyer-seller interaction. The price is known at the time 

the deal is struck and delivery may be up to 30 days.
Purchase Types- Formula

Formula: The advance commitment of cattle for slaughter by any means 

other than negotiated, negotiated grid, or forward contract. Formulas use a 

method of calculating price in which the price may often not be known at a 

future date. 
Purchase Type- Forward Contract

Forward Contract: An agreement for the purchase of cattle, executed in 

advance of slaughter, under which the base price is established by reference 

to prices quoted on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange. 
Purchase Types- Negotiated Grid and 

Packer-Owned

Negotiated Grid: The base price is negotiated between buyer and seller and 

is known at the time the deal is struck and delivery is usually expected 

within 14 days. However, the final net price will be determined by applying a 

series of premiums and discounts after slaughter based on carcass 

performance. The base is reported when established. The net is reported 

after slaughter and grading occurs.

Packer-Owned: Cattle that a packer owns for at least 14 days immediately 

before slaughter. These are reported on the weekly LPS-115B only.
Poll Question:

Which purchase type accounts 

for the largest number of live 

cattle transactions?
Purchase Type Trends
Reporting Forms and Reports

Live Cattle Daily Report – Current Established Prices [Form LPS-113] 

Required to submit at 10AM and 2PM all transactions that have been priced 

since the last reporting period for steers and heifers (fed cattle only). 

Examples of reports derived from the LPS-113:

National Weekly Formula, Contract, Grid - LM_CT151

5 Area Weekly Negotiated Cash - LM_CT150
LPS-113
5-Area Weekly Weighted Average Direct Slaughter 

Cattle Report

Weekly Reporting 

Timeframes
Daily Report Example

Report Procedures 
Reporting Forms and Reports- Live Cattle Daily 

Report 

Live Cattle Daily Report – Committed and Delivered Cattle [Form LPS-114] 

Required to submit at 10AM and 2PM central all transactions since the last 

reporting period regarding committed and delivered volume for steers and 

heifers (fed cattle only). 

Example of a report derived from the LPS-114:

Daily Committed and Delivered - LM_CT106
LPS-114
Daily Committed & Delivered

Purchase Type 

Breakdown
Reporting Forms and Reports- Cattle Premiums 

and Discounts Weekly Report

Cattle Premiums and Discounts Weekly Report (Form LPS-117) 

• Due once a week on Monday morning at 9:00AM Central. 

• Packers are required to submit their estimated premiums and discounts 

for fed cattle for the upcoming week.

Example of a report derived from the LPS-117:

• Weekly 5-Area Premiums and Discounts - LM_CT169
LPS-117
5-Area Weekly Premium 

& Discounts
CONFIDENTIALITY

For all Live Cattle reports, 3/70/20 is 

applied to the report as a whole over a 60-

day period.
Current Marketing Trends

Increased Forward 

Contract volume

Increased Negotiated 

Grid volume

Regional differences 
Forward Contract/Negotiated Grid

0.0%

2.0%

4.0%

6.0%

8.0%

10.0%

12.0%

14.0%

16.0%

18.0%

20.0%

1/8/20182/8/20183/8/20184/8/20185/8/20186/8/20187/8/20188/8/20189/8/2018

10/8/201811/8/201812/8/2018

1/8/20192/8/20193/8/20194/8/20195/8/20196/8/20197/8/20198/8/20199/8/2019

10/8/201911/8/201912/8/2019

1/8/20202/8/20203/8/20204/8/20205/8/20206/8/20207/8/20208/8/20209/8/2020

10/8/202011/8/202012/8/2020

1/8/20212/8/20213/8/20214/8/2021

Forward Contract Negotiated Grid
Data Review

• Reporters review submitted files at submission deadlines. Use checklists 

to ensure all expected plants have reported and then imports data files.

• For fed cattle there is an exclusion policy to automatically exclude all lots 

containing 10 head or less.

• Reporters look for any invalid records, contact plant, and correct data.

• Reporters identify data outliers and call the plant to inquire about lots in 

question before generating reports.
Data Options

• MyMarketNews

• DataMart

• Application Programming Interface (API)
Contact Information

Charlie Potts

Livestock, Poultry & Grain Market News

Email: Charlie.Potts@usda.gov

Phone: 816-676-7000

Livestock, Poultry & Grain Market News homepage:

https://www.marketnews.usda.gov/mnp/ls-home
Stephen Koontz

Department of Agricultural and Resource Economics 

Colorado State University

Utilizing Livestock Mandatory 

Reporting (LMR) Live Cattle Price 

Reports/Data/ Information
Market Information is Important

For the individual – market price information is important for making good 

business decisions.

For the overall marketplace – for free-market economies to work well then 

market participants need to be well-informed.

So, what are the prices and what are my opportunities?

There are also a breadth of data users and providers of information.
Let’s go test-drive the USDA AMS 

Market News Website

https://www.ams.usda.gov/market-news
What can we learn? Comparing cash prices

$80

$90

$100

$110

$120

$130

$140

$150

$160

5-Area Fed Cattle Prices

>80% 65-80% 35-65% WtgAvg
Comparing cash prices? Let’s zoom in some...

$95

$100

$105

$110

$115

$120

$125

$130

$135

03/03/1903/10/1903/17/1903/24/1903/31/1904/07/1904/14/1904/21/1904/28/1905/05/1905/12/1905/19/1905/26/1906/02/1906/09/1906/16/1906/23/1906/30/1907/07/1907/14/1907/21/1907/28/1908/04/1908/11/1908/18/1908/25/1909/01/1909/08/1909/15/1909/22/1909/29/1910/06/1910/13/1910/20/1910/27/1911/03/19

5-Area Fed Cattle Prices

>80% 65-80% 35-65% WtgAvg
Comparing cash prices to formula prices?

$140

$150

$160

$170

$180

$190

$200

$210

$220

$230

$240

$250

5-Area Fed Cattle Dressed Prices

Cash Formula

Formula prices follow negotiated cash prices...
Comparing cash prices to forward contract prices?

Forward prices have lower highs and higher lows than negotiated cash prices...

$80

$90

$100

$110

$120

$130

$140

$150

5-Area Fed Cattle Live Prices

Cash Forward


Some things that are seen in the LMR data

• There are very strong seasonal patterns in prices.

• Steer and heifer prices are not different for fed cattle.

• Premiums and discounts across USDA Quality Grade and Yield Grade.

• There are reasonable and predictable patterns across the 5-area regional 

prices.

• Cattle prices for the different marketing types (cash-formula-forward) 

are not all that different. And the differences are reasonable.

• Clear benchmarks! USDA AMS and NASS establish the Gold-Standard.
Some conclusions?

• Fed cattle prices are variable and volatile. This is a fact of life for all 

commodity markets and it’s not unique to fed cattle or feeder cattle.

• Staying up to date is important. And so is Risk Management.

• Market News tells you the cash market side of the story. The CME 

Group will tell you the futures and options side.

• And, I think, Livestock Revenue Protection from the Risk Management 

Agency is worth a hard look by any producer. (Look for some education 

programming through the National Cattlemen's Beef Association.)
What next?

• Make time and develop a routine.

• Know your reports. You will learn the numbers...

• And ask your information services questions.

• What’s unique about your system/business?

• Are there opportunities to do something different?

• What’s the rate of return on my business and how do I improve it?

• Let’s get into that data...
Website Script

Main USDA-AMS-MN page.

“Livestock, meats, poultry, eggs, grain & hay”

“Cattle” – first 4 are fed cattle and the second 4 are feeder cattle.

Slaughter Cattle Summary – daily – ams_2684.pdf – lsddcbs.pdf (next time!)

• Weekly – e.g., Colorado...

• Weekly & monthly – ams_2704.pdf

• Weekly Market Recaps...

Slaughter Cattle Auctions – loops into states from different direction.

National Direct Slaughter Cattle Reports

• Daily – weekly – negotiated cash, formula, and forward...

Regional Direct Slaughter Cattle Reports

• Daily – weekly – negotiated cash, formula, and forward...

Thank you for Participating

For more information on this webinar series and the 

USDA Cattle and Carcass Training Centers, visit: 

www.ams.usda.gov/grades-standards/beef/cattle-carcass-training- centers

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