It was a better week for feeder cattle across the country as receipts improved and there were 26,400 head at the test auctions. Prices were steady to $6 higher for yearlings and calves were mixed either side of steady, but a lot more new crop calves starting to move. The fact that the CME live cattle for February and April moved up to $122 supported the hedging on heavier yearlings. This really helped to push the yearlings higher.

Slaughter cow receipts at the test auction were just a little lower because of the holiday. Prices were mostly steady with some weakness starting to show up as the cow meat prices dropped on Tuesday.