Effective marketing and risk management techniques rely on benchmarks. Basis, the difference between a cash price and a futures price, is one such benchmark for those in the cattle industry. Basis levels reflect transportation costs from the cash location to where the underlying futures contract settles. Basis levels also reflect any quality differences in the cash price and the futures contract specifications.
Basis by Class of Cattle
| Year | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 31.99 | 41.07 | 38.31 | 41.00 | 31.08 | 37.56 | 24.20 | 30.34 | 8.20 | 11.48 | 15.38 | 21.11 |
| 2017 | 28.61 | 34.77 | 35.42 | 35.60 | 37.25 | 40.86 | 22.78 | 32.07 | 29.22 | 28.36 | 29.22 | 38.81 |
| 2018 | 38.82 | 43.11 | 48.19 | 43.15 | 40.78 | 36.21 | 22.76 | 40.08 | 22.67 | 22.03 | 22.96 | 24.83 |
| 2019 | 30.14 | 35.80 | 34.12 | 34.11 | 36.72 | 33.97 | 26.38 | 37.22 | 26.55 | 13.85 | 16.87 | 19.95 |
| 2020 | 31.52 | 36.58 | 43.87 | 43.27 | 38.56 | 34.86 | 28.48 | 30.63 | 24.74 | 21.85 | 24.44 | 29.70 |
| 2021 | 33.05 | 31.22 | 36.83 | 35.91 | 33.12 | 23.50 | 26.68 | 27.99 | 24.92 | 23.13 | 18.04 | 26.11 |
| 2022 | 34.16 | 40.92 | 45.45 | 40.68 | 40.19 | 40.11 | 41.77 | 40.01 | 38.25 | 41.24 | 34.82 | 33.86 |
| 2023 | 36.82 | 39.10 | 51.83 | 49.90 | 56.60 | 59.16 | 48.31 | 53.33 | 53.05 | 56.76 | 64.08 | 68.93 |
| 2024 | 72.49 | 71.37 | 83.42 | 91.83 | 94.23 | 86.66 | 87.18 | 78.19 | 54.84 | 69.98 | 72.14 | 84.2 |
| 2025 | 81.36 | 91.84 | 94.13 | 101.87 | 119.83 | 126.57 | 107.17 | 102.11 | 96.52 | 126.05 | 118.63 | 117.48 |
Note: Basis reflects the difference between the South Dakota cash prices for beef calves (steers weighing 500-599 pounds) and the nearby feeder cattle futures prices.
| Year | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 1.92 | 6.35 | 4.84 | 6.34 | 7.25 | 9.93 | 8.85 | 4.99 | 4.82 | 3.62 | 3.79 | 4.78 |
| 2017 | 3.50 | 6.37 | 2.86 | 4.19 | 7.43 | 9.02 | 9.85 | 5.24 | 9.03 | 8.60 | 10.80 | 14.61 |
| 2018 | 4.10 | 3.24 | 4.54 | 5.57 | 3.94 | 1.08 | 0.44 | 4.53 | 3.14 | 5.14 | 4.02 | 5.82 |
| 2019 | 1.59 | -0.66 | 2.26 | 3.08 | 4.96 | 4.75 | 7.83 | 8.89 | 3.28 | 4.06 | 5.13 | 3.88 |
| 2020 | 2.36 | 6.34 | 11.05 | 11.06 | 8.68 | 3.39 | 4.93 | 1.40 | 5.09 | 5.71 | 4.23 | 0.86 |
| 2021 | 2.81 | 1.67 | 2.42 | 2.53 | 3.82 | -7.36 | 0.85 | 0.96 | 3.25 | 1.95 | 1.77 | 2.29 |
| 2022 | 2.34 | 2.10 | 2.72 | 2.54 | 3.66 | -0.42 | 7.82 | 7.13 | 7.22 | 9.12 | 3.99 | 1.36 |
| 2023 | 0.96 | 0.51 | 5.58 | 10.50 | 10.17 | -0.56 | 7.11 | 4.77 | 4.95 | 3.74 | 13.26 | 9.55 |
| 2024 | 12.12 | 5.47 | 11.98 | 18.48 | 16.28 | 11.88 | 8.72 | 6.99 | 10.74 | 10.88 | 11.94 | 17.23 |
| 2025 | 17.95 | 20.03 | 15.38 | 16.39 | 18.20 | 19.60 | 12.50 | 13.59 | 12.99 | 14.38 | 31.16 | 30.24 |
Note: Basis reflects the difference between the monthly cash price for feeder cattle (steers weighing 700-899 pounds) and the nearby feeder cattle futures prices.
| Year | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | -5.47 | -7.94 | -2.39 | -0.54 | 7.61 | 5.86 | 3.09 | 0.00 | -1.87 | -2.10 | -3.89 | -6.84 |
| 2017 | -0.57 | -2.11 | 8.36 | 5.52 | 8.56 | -2.99 | 4.28 | 0.53 | -2.70 | -3.44 | -2.49 | 0.83 |
| 2018 | 0.83 | -0.13 | 6.69 | 2.52 | 14.39 | 0.81 | 2.71 | -0.30 | -4.14 | -3.76 | -6.04 | -4.64 |
| 2019 | -4.43 | -2.19 | -1.40 | 1.84 | 6.91 | 4.40 | 8.03 | 2.24 | 2.25 | -1.98 | -5.34 | -4.15 |
| 2020 | -4.08 | -0.46 | 10.64 | 7.43 | 12.08 | 8.43 | -0.95 | 0.04 | -3.17 | -2.04 | -4.03 | -3.93 |
| 2021 | -5.20 | -3.58 | -5.99 | -0.28 | 1.11 | 3.71 | 0.83 | 2.63 | -3.26 | -2.00 | -5.37 | 1.32 |
| 2022 | -0.59 | 1.19 | 0.13 | 3.85 | 11.88 | 9.75 | 5.86 | 4.16 | -2.19 | -4.46 | -1.43 | 0.61 |
| 2023 | -1.61 | -6.83 | 1.48 | 7.18 | 16.93 | 6.11 | 2.32 | 5.34 | -2.74 | -2.75 | 4.16 | -0.36 |
| 2024 | -0.47 | -7.82 | -2.66 | 2.74 | 9.36 | 6.13 | 15.01 | 5.17 | 5.28 | -0.66 | 1.15 | 2.86 |
| 2025 | 6.12 | 5.49 | 1.47 | 8.77 | 15.63 | 14.19 | 17.80 | 9.76 | 4.72 | -0.38 | -1.55 | -6.52 |
Note: Basis reflects the difference between the monthly slaughter cattle price for steers (grading 2-3 Choice and weighing 1300-1500 pounds) and the nearby live cattle futures prices.
