High temperatures, low humidity and heavy winds have Oklahoma’s wildfire threat at its highest point in a decade, according to the National Weather Service.
Strong prices are being reflected in strong cattle demand, and to Chip Nellinger of Blue Reef Agri-Marketing, the feedlots have the upper hand, while the packers are short bought.
While corn, soybeans and wheat have seen some slight rallies in the last few years, prices have stayed relatively low. Record- or near record-breaking crops year after year hasn’t been much help to the price picture.
The 2017 cattle markets have been interesting, and since November 1, Elaine Kub, author of Mastering the Grain Markets, can describe them in one word: wild.
Farmers in the Northern Plains have been struggling with drought, making it difficult and expensive to scrounge up enough feed for their livestock to last through the winter.
Flooding from Hurricane Harvey is slow to drain in some areas of southwest Louisiana one week after the storm made landfall. Agricultural fields consisting primarily of rice and soybeans are suffering from the most damage.
The U.S. Meat Export Federation (USMEF) said Japan is continuing to buy U.S. beef. Exports to the island country continued to gain momentum in June, with volume up 7 percent and value up 13 percent compared to 2016.
Drought and dryness in the northern Plains hasn’t been enough to stop cattle growth, according to the mid-year cattle inventory numbers from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA).
Farmers in the northern Plains are well aware of the dry conditions, and now they have to resort to drastic measures in order to deal with eroding conditions that are destroying crops and pastures.
Wild weather in the Corn Belt in the beginning of the month flooded freshly planted fields and dumped inches of snow on Kansas wheat. Farmers were expecting to see a bump in prices, but failed to see any reaction in the markets.
Cattle ranchers in the Great Plains have been struck with another heavy blow after a weekend blizzard left countless cattle dead and thousands struggling to feed in Oklahoma and Kansas. This setback comes two months after the March wildfires tore through Kansas, Oklahoma, and Texas.
Farmers from the mid-South to the Great Plains are counting their losses and making plans to replant after a tumultuous storm brought deadly flooding to double-digit snowfall.
It’s been 13 years since China closed its doors to U.S. beef, and that may change soon if the meeting between President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping is any indication of a relationship change.
The Trump administration made an announcement Tuesday it plans to delay the start of the Farmer Fair Practices Rules written by USDA’S Grain Inspection Packers and Stockyards Administration (GIPSA).
President Donald Trump is scheduled to meet his Chinese counterpart later today, and it could set the tone for trade between the two nations. Beef producers hope this could mean greater access to the world’s most populated country.
Brazil’s embattled meat industry received encouraging news as some of its key export markets eases restrictions stemming from allegations of bribery of meat inspectors.
Rusty and Jennifer Colten live and ranch in Harper County, Ok. Jennifer’s great grandparents homesteaded in the Oklahoma panhandle and the land has been with the family ever since.