History of Cattle

Free $25 Cattle and Livestock Trading Kit

It has been conceived that cattle have been around for centuries.

Cattle caregivers once followed their herds from land to land as the cattle searched for food to consume.. Later, some of these herders and their families settled in one place. They fed their cattle grains in addition to grass. The 1st cattle were used as work animals as well as for producing milk and meat for consumption.

Eventually, people began to breed cattle either as meat producers or for producing milk. Some historians believe that cows were first brought to the Americas by Norwegian Vikings in the early 1000's. Railroads had helped cattle ranchers by transporating cattle to the markets in the east.. Railroad cars that were cooled made it possible to to ship meat products across the continent.. In 1900 there was a amount of about sixty million cattle in the United States. There are now about one-hundred and fifty million cattle in the USA.

In the United States, it is estimated that people eat an average of 67 pounds of meat and drink approximately 100 quarts of milk every year per person. Cattle is a very vital part of our way of life.

Cattle Futures

Cattle Specifications

Trading Unit
Live Cattle Futures: 40,000 lbs. of 55% choice, 45% select grade live cattle
Live Cattle Options: 1 Live Cattle Futures Contract
Feeder Cattle Futures: 50,000 lbs. of 700 to 849 lb. Medium Frame #1 and Medium and Large Frame #1 feeder steers
Feeder Cattle Options: One Feeder Cattle Futures Contract

Trading Hours
Futures: 9:05 a.m. - 1:00 p.m. LTD (12:00p.m.)
Options: 9:05 a.m. - 1:02 p.m. LTD (12:00p.m.)

Trading Months
Live Cattle Futures: February, April, June, August, October, December, Seven months in the February Bi-monthly Cycle
Feeder Cattle Futures: January, March, April, May, August, September, October, and November, Eight months listed at a time Live Cattle Options: February, April, June, August, October, December, Serial Months
Flex Options: 6 months in February every two month cycle. One serial month
Feeder Cattle Options: January, March, April, May, August, September, October, November.
Flex Options: Eight options months listed

Point Description
Live Cattle Futures and Options: 1 point = $.0001 per pound = $4.00
Feeder Futures and Options: 1 point = $.0001 per pound = $5.00

Minimum Price Fluctuation
Live Cattle Futures and Options-regular: 0.00025 = $10.00
Feeder Cattle Futures and Options-regular: 0.00025 = $12.50
Live Cattle Options-cab: 0.000125 = $5.00
Feeder Cattle Options-cab: 0.000125 = $6.25

Options Strike Prices
Live Cattle Options: Cents per pound. 1st 2 months only- $0.01 intervals e.g. $0.76, $0.77, $0.78. All other months $0.02 intervals e.g. $0.76, $0.78;
Serial Options - $0.01 intervals. Flex Options are listed in intervals of $0.0025.
Feeder Cattle Options: Cents per pound. First two months only- $0.01 intervals, $0.60, $0.61, $062 etc. All other months- $0.02 intervals, $0.62, $0.64, $0.66, etc.
For spot month, $0.005 intervals, $0.605, $0.610, $0.615, etc.
Flex Options are listed in intervals of $0.0025

*The risk of loss exists in futures trading. Past performance is not indicative of future results.