Cattle traded in Kansas Tuesday at $115.00 live, down $3.00 from the bulk of last week's trade. Light trade occurred in Texas at just $114.00 live, with many feedlots still holding out for $115.00. Nebraska also saw light trade at $114.00-114.50 live and $185 dressed. More trade is expected today in both Texas and Nebraska.

The choice cutout was up $1.53 at $186.50 last night, with the select up $0.83 at $184.58. Spot trade volume was light again. Buyers are resistant of the higher prices, especially in light of the fact that packers are buying cattle sharply lower this week. Grilling season is coming, however, and buyers will need to become more aggressive at some point in the near future.

Hogs

Early hog calls are mostly steady, though some lower bids could persist. Trade is expected to be very light since most packers are done buying for this week. There could still be a bit of caution about buying next week's hogs despite the fact that the industry has not seen any sign yet of problems with pork exports to Japan.

The pork cutout lost $0.59 last night. Butts were quoted unevenly steady, with the weighted average up about a penny. Loins were quoted as steady/weak, and the weighted average on the bone-in lost about 5 cents. Heavy hams were a penny higher again.

TJE Cash trade information provided by Robin Fuller