Live Cattle Futures Higher

February live cattle is trading at 111.55, up 0.87 cents/lb. April live cattle is trading at 110.70, up 0.45 cents/lb. Live cattle futures are trading choppy and higher just after the open. Chatter about cash prices is making the rounds. Friday's USDA cattle slaughter was 113,000 head and Saturday's was 35,000 head. Total cattle slaughter for the week was 611,000 head, 5.3 percent from a year ago and down from 616,000 head last week. Beef production for the week was 515 million pounds, up 5.8 percent from a year ago.