# Spring Moisture Drives Feeder Cattle Contracts Higher

> Record snow in parts of Montana and Wyoming over the weekend led cow-calf producers to struggle to keep calves alive. Feeder cattle contracts rallied $1 to $3 from March 27, with deferred contracts seeing the most support.

- Date: 2023-03-27 · published 2023-03-27T12:00:00.000Z
- Category: weather · region US · magnitude low
- Page: https://feedsoft.ai/events/5596-spring-moisture-drives-feeder-cattle-contracts-higher
- Commodities: [Feeder Cattle](https://feedsoft.ai/c/FCATTLE.md), [Corn](https://feedsoft.ai/c/CORN.md)

## Why it matters

Thin feeder supplies and expected tighter second-half supply support higher feeder prices, and the widening May-August spread signals tightening deferred supply. Corn price moves also affect feeder economics.

## Read by commodity

- CORN: neutral
- FCATTLE: bullish ▲

## Linked price moves

| Commodity | Date | Window | Change % | z-score | Why linked |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| FCATTLE | 2023-03-30 | 5 | +5.9% | 3.3 | Record snow in Montana and Wyoming threatened calf survival and tightened expected supply, lifting feeder contracts $1-3, especially deferred months. |

## Similar past events

| Commodity | Date | Event | 5-day % | 20-day % |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| FCATTLE | 2025-01-01 | [Feeder cattle market: Prices ending 2024 on higher note](https://feedsoft.ai/events/27086-feeder-cattle-market-prices-ending-2024-on-higher-note.md) | +1.0% | +7.2% |
| FCATTLE | 2021-11-10 | [The Cycle of Drought, Cowherd Liquidation and Higher Feeder Cattle Prices](https://feedsoft.ai/events/44208-the-cycle-of-drought-cowherd-liquidation-and-higher-feeder-cattle-prices.md) | -1.4% | +3.5% |
| FCATTLE | 2022-08-09 | [Coping with high feed prices, drought in 2022
						 \| The Cattle Site](https://feedsoft.ai/events/40182-coping-with-high-feed-prices-drought-in-2022-the-cattle-site.md) | -0.7% | +1.6% |
| FCATTLE | 2024-05-21 | [Klassen: Demand for grass cattle pushes feeder market higher - Manitoba Co-operator](https://feedsoft.ai/events/6977-klassen-demand-for-grass-cattle-pushes-feeder-market-higher-manitoba-co-operator.md) | +7.3% | +5.4% |
| FCATTLE | 2023-03-30 | [U.S. livestock: CME live cattle set contract high as cash prices jump - Grainews](https://feedsoft.ai/events/10373-u-s-livestock-cme-live-cattle-set-contract-high-as-cash-prices-jump-grainews.md) | +3.3% | +5.9% |
| CORN | 2022-07-27 | [Shrinking cattle herd could equal high calf, beef prices](https://feedsoft.ai/events/40435-shrinking-cattle-herd-could-equal-high-calf-beef-prices.md) | +3.1% | +5.3% |
| CORN | 2017-08-10 | [How will summer drought and this fall’s corn crop affect feeder cattle](https://feedsoft.ai/events/69610-how-will-summer-drought-and-this-fall-s-corn-crop-affect-feeder-cattle.md) | -4.5% | -6.5% |
| CORN | 2022-04-21 | [Moisture vs. Drought in Corn, Soybean States](https://feedsoft.ai/events/13369-moisture-vs-drought-in-corn-soybean-states.md) | -1.5% | -3.5% |

## Sources

- dtnpf.com: https://www.dtnpf.com/agriculture/web/AG/blogs/sort-cull/blog-post/2023/03/27/spring-moisture-drives-feeder-cattle

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Data from Feedsoft AI (https://feedsoft.ai/). For information only; not investment advice.