Record Beef Exports During August

Josh Maples, Assistant Professor & Extension Economist, Department of Agricultural Economics, Mississippi State University The latest estimates for beef trade were released last week by USDA ERS. These estimates included data for the month of August. Beef exports set a record during August 2021 and were 21 percent higher as compared to the same month a year ago. Beef exports totaled 324.5 million pounds during August which is the largest monthly total on record for…

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USDA Forecasts Record Farm Exports in FY 2021

The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s quarterly agricultural trade forecast, released, projects fiscal year 2021 U.S. farm exports at $164 billion – the highest total on record. This represents an increase of $28 billion, or 21 percent, from last fiscal year’s total, and a $7-billion increase from USDA’s previous FY 2021 forecast published in February. The annual export record of $152.3 billion was set in FY 2014. “U.S. agricultural trade has proven extraordinarily resilient…

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Will Seasonality Patterns for Beef Export Sales and Commitments Hold in 2021?

Elliott Dennis, Assistant Professor & Livestock Extension Economist, Department of Agricultural Economics, University of Nebraska – Lincoln Trade occurs when price differences between the two locations are large enough after accounting for transportation cost, exchange rates, tariffs, etc. Exports vary throughout the year since prices reflect current and future supply and demand situations. Seasonality in cattle production, meat demand, and market disruptions are some examples of why wholesale beef prices increase and decrease…

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Cattle Exports to Mexico Surge

David P. Anderson, Professor and Extension Economist, Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service Imports of feeder cattle from Mexico usually are reported with interest because ranchers and feeders in the U.S. import more than 1 million head per year, on average. The U.S. also exports cattle to Mexico, but in much smaller numbers. In recent weeks cattle exports have surged to the highest levels in several years. Weekly cattle exports to Mexico are reported…

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More Prime, But Less Choice and Select

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…

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Beef Exports (again) a Key Factor to Watch in 2020

Josh Maples, Assistant Professor & Extension Economist, Department of Agricultural Economics, Mississippi State University The latest Monthly Trade data for November 2019 was released by USDA Economic Research Service last week. The report continued the recent trend of lower monthly exports as compared to 2018. After three consecutive years of double-digit increases (2016-2018) in beef exports, current data show January-November 2019 exports to be down 4.6 percent compared to the same period in…

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