Livestock producers will be required by IBP to sign the affidavit semi-annually in order to continue supplying the company with cattle. IBP will conduct random, on-site audits of the feeding records of cattle suppliers to verify compliance. BSE has never been diagnosed in the U.S. cattle herd. The rule took effect on August 4, 1997. The livestock and meat markets are nervous.
Weather is an issue in terms of the condition of the cattle in the feedyards in the Southwest.
Any forecast for a storm tends to push prices on nearby futures higher because there are expectations that the cattle will not gain well. Continued coverage of BSE issues and concerns in other parts of the world adds a bit of nervousness from the demand side. All this has brought at least some temporary halts to the rather bullish scenario that we were seeing in the cattle markets. With some hesitation in the cattle markets where demand, I believe, continues to be strong, the pork sector has not been able to turn back to higher prices. As we came into trade this week, I think there were some interesting possibilities in these markets in terms of opportunities on both the short and long sides of the trade.