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Beef
Week Ending	4/18/08	4/11/08	Year Ago	% of Prior Week	% of Prior Year
Slaughter	676,000	645,000	652,000	104.8%	103.7%
Beef (million lbs)	520.6	498.0	484.6	104.5%	107.4%
Choice Value	149.03	140.91	166.29	105.8%	89.6%
Select Value	146.78	140.23	154.79	104.7%	94.8%
Choice/Select Spread	2.26	0.68	11.50	332.4%	19.7%
Dressed Steer Weight	839	843	813	99.5%	103.2%
Dressed Heifer Weight	756	753	726	100.4%	104.1%

Live Cattle
Week Ending	4/18/08	4/11/08	Year Ago	% of Prior Week	% of Prior Year
Live Steer Weight	1,268	1,277	1,255	99.3%	101.0%
Live Heifer Weight	1,155	1,175	1,139	98.3%	101.4%
5 Area Cattle Price	90.00	87.16	96.06	103.3%	93.7%
Nearby Cattle Futures	89.55	88.70	95.62	101.0%	93.7%

Grain
Week Ending	4/18/08	4/11/08	Year Ago	% of Prior Week	% of Prior Year
Nearby Corn Futures	5.99	5.84	3.60	102.6%	166.4%
Nearby Soybean Futures	13.61	13.32	7.23	102.2%	188.2%

Nexus eNote

· April 1 Cattle on Feed: On Feed 100.3%, Placements 88.6%, Marketings 99.9%

· Since April 4^th the Choice cutout has increased almost $17.

· According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, farm business debt is expected to reach $228 billion by the end of this year, an $8 billion increase from last year and a new record for the fourth consecutive year. The government said much of the debt is driven by the need for new machinery, equipment and grain storage, as farmers strive to keep up with the increasing demand for grain. Debt for land is expected to rise to nearly $121 billion this year, a 2.8 percent increase. And the USDA said from the beginning of 2003 to the end of 2008, total farm debt will have increased by about $52.8 billion, or more than 30 percent.

· The recently announced reopening of trade between the U.S and South Korean has conditions and will be resumed in two stages. Korea will first allow the importation of bone-in and boneless beef, and variety meats, from cattle under 30 months of age. It will only allow imports from cattle 30 months of age and older when the Food and Drug Administration publishes a final rule on additional BSE safeguards regarding the use of certain specified risk materials (SRMs). FDA proposed its final rule in October 2005. In the meantime, Korea will exclude some SRMs that world standards deem to be safe from countries such as the U.S. Speculation is that trade could resume as early as mid-May.

· According to the CME Group’s Daily Livestock Report, for the week ending April 20, only 4% of the US corn crop had been planted, compared to 9% a year ago and almost 20% for the five year average.

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