The reopening of restaurant and foodservice is driving beef demand to pre-pandemic levels and beyond, spiking wholesale beef prices $20 per cwt. higher this week, and more than $34 per cwt. higher over two weeks.
Demand for spring and summer grazing cattle remains high with prices reflecting good buyer competition. Agricultural Marketing Service reporters called last week’s prices for steers and heifers steady to $4 higher.
Cash cattle traded in light to moderate volumes last week, with the strongest prices in the North. Wholesale beef prices continued marching higher as demand continues strong.
Negotiated cash cattle slipped $1 to $2 lower last week, yet wholesale beef prices marched higher. USDA’s cattle on feed report found aggressive March placements.
Large numbers of cows going to slaughter during the last quarter of 2020 and the first quarter of this year confirm the downward trajectory of the cattle cycle has not changed.
Beef industry efforts to develop a voluntary animal traceability system gained significant traction today as Tyson Fresh Meats becomes the first beef processor to invest in membership to U.S. CattleTrace.
Sales of all food and beverage items during February were 11.8% higher than during February 2020, and the meat department was an above-average performer.
Brazilian producers are getting squeezed as growing meat exports to China boosts cattle prices, yet Brazilian packers struggle with higher costs and financially-strapped domestic consumers.
Colorado Governor Jared Polis has effectively hung a “welcome” sign out encouraging radical activist groups to make mischief in his state and torment ranchers. The first salvo is called the PAUSE Act.
