Harrington's Sort & Cull

Farm Share Rises From Death Bed

Thu, 05 Nov 2009 22:21:00 GMT

So here comes a double dose of cold comfort: 1) the late year cash trade would be much more had it not been for some positive shifts in middle margins over the last several months; and 2) the greater confidence that these shifts imply, together with hints of actual demand improvement, suggest that market hogs will trade significantly higher through most of 2010.

Pass the Tortured Flesh

Tue, 03 Nov 2009 23:36:00 GMT

Inflammatory rhetoric seldom facilitates the reasoning process and rarely encourages the fair weighing of evidence. Yet when the first opinionated disc-jockey cranks up the volume, the responder has little choice to answer with his own boom box.

A Likely Feeder Bottom

Mon, 02 Nov 2009 23:39:00 GMT

Indeed, if the feeder market is generally on course, skewed only by a slightly faster than normal pace, I feel somewhat confident in predicting that a late year bottom is close at hand. It may have already come and gone.

Those Attractive Birds In The Bush

Thu, 29 Oct 2009 21:57:00 GMT

Don't buckle the harness of rationality too tightly around the market horse.

The Sure Remedy Few Seem To Want

Wed, 28 Oct 2009 22:56:00 GMT

When it comes to irradiation, meat processors have been caught between a rock and a hard place for more than a decade.

Jumping From the Basement

Tue, 27 Oct 2009 22:05:00 GMT

Try as you might, it's tough to get hurt jumping out of a basement.

What's Time to a Pig, or the USDA?

Fri, 23 Oct 2009 19:26:00 GMT

USDA seems to put little value on time when it comes to making a decision about whether to buy more pork products.

Pay Dirt or Fill Sand?

Thu, 22 Oct 2009 22:29:00 GMT

Despite serious efforts in backfilling, the long-touted marketing hole in the fall cattle market actually seems to be taking shape.

The Long Walk From Wall Street to the Sticks

Thu, 15 Oct 2009 22:24:00 GMT

If the party on Wall Street over the economic recovery ever stands to find its way to the sticks, meat producers are painfully realistic about the lag time ahead.

Trapped in the Wrong Stock Market?

Wed, 14 Oct 2009 21:18:00 GMT

Anyone who takes the time to compare feedlot investment over the last year with stock equity in major processing companies quickly discovers that it still only hurts when you laugh.

Waiting for the Other Spinal Column to Drop

Tue, 13 Oct 2009 17:56:00 GMT

Packers just can't seem to not make mistakes like shipping some vertebrae to Japan. Luckily the DPJ reacted in a relatively measured way.

Cautious Optimism in the ICU

Wed, 07 Oct 2009 22:55:00 GMT

An impressive two-day rally is no magic pill by itself. Dr. Harrington is not ready to dismiss anyone who's been on life-support this long. Nonetheless, there are several encouraging developments worth charting.

The Cost of Preventing Tragedy

Tue, 06 Oct 2009 21:44:00 GMT

I thought the New York Times discussion of the manufacturing of ground beef was an accurate description of the economically-driven process.

Dairy Buy-out Not Wearing Well

Mon, 05 Oct 2009 21:46:00 GMT

The latest round of dairy cow buy-outs doesn't sit well with beef producers.

Jack Frost Is Bullish Feeders

Thu, 01 Oct 2009 21:15:00 GMT

The feeder cattle market has launched the fourth quarter by shattering chart support and reminding everyone within shouting distance that the seasonal downtrend for calves and yearlings is about as dominant as they come.