Feeder Cattle Price Slides

One of the difficult aspects of marketing feeder cattle via private treaty, forward contracts, basis contracts, or minimum price contracts is to establish price levels based on the actual weight of cattle at the time of delivery when that weight is not known at the time of contracting. A common practice is to use a price slide that makes a downward or upward adjustment to the negotiated price if the cattle weigh more or less than expected. It is important to select the appropriate price slide.