David P. Anderson, Professor and Extension Economist, Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service One of the interesting trends in 2019 was the retreat in the number of carcasses grading Choice throughout a large portion of the year. The decline in Choice carcasses, combined with lower weights and fewer steers sent to market resulted in some very tight supplies of Choice beef and a wide Choice-Select spread through much of the last half of the…
Brenda Boetel, Professor, Department of Agricultural Economics, University of Wisconsin-River Falls The semi-annual Cattle report was released on January 31, 2020. The report showed what many analysts had already been saying; the total number of cattle and calves in the USA was at 94.4 million head, slightly down from January 2019’s number of 94.8 million head. This number indicates that the industry has entered into the liquidation phase of the cattle cycle. But…
By Robert Wells, Ph.D.Livestock Consultant To be successful, any business person must develop a plan and then devise a strategy on how to work the plan to accomplish desired goals. That’s especially important in the cattle business, where most cow-calf producers would agree that the return on investment on an annual cash basis is typically low. In order to become and remain profitable, producers must effectively manage the operation by paying close attention…
Garth Ruff, OSU Extension Henry County Group lots of calves with uniform weight, frame, and genetics sell for a premium in the market place. Each year I like to look evaluate any upcoming opportunities and set goals for the New Year in an effort to better myself both professionally and personally. I prefer to call them goals rather than New Years Resolutions because many people tend to let resolutions fall through the cracks.…
Stephen R. Koontz, Department of Agricultural and Resource Economics – Colorado State University Without a doubt, the cattle markets are closing the year far stronger than I expected. Live cattle futures have pushed into new highs and cash fed cattle prices are back to tracking the price levels and seasonal patterns of last year. There were some unique market drivers that I discussed last month. Most are still present, are not typical, and…
Dr. Elliott Dennis, Assistant Professor, Livestock Marketing Economist, Department of Agricultural Economics, University of Nebraska – Lincoln The Holcomb packing plant fire has certainly been a black swan event – rare, unpredictable and has had dramatic effects on the cattle industry. These dramatic effects have ranged from massive selloffs in the futures market, record packer profit margins coupled with increases in Saturday harvest numbers, and volatile feeder and fed cattle prices.[1] But to…