The last six weeks of winter produced a sideways trade in cash cattle with little. The first week of spring saw changing attitudes and packers willing to take on more volume with prices from $1 to $3 higher.
Iowa Sen. Chuck Grassley and Montana Sen. Jon Tester re-introduced their “50/14" bill that seeks to increase competition and transparency in cattle markets. The announcement drew mixed reaction from cattlemen’s groups.
Sustainable Beef LLC announced plans to build a new, 300,000-square-foot beef packing facility in North Platte with capacity to process 400,000 cattle annually.
Grass is greening up and cattlemen are busy seeking stocker and feeder cattle to turn out for the season. Prices last week saw the influence of that stronger demand.
Cash cattle markets carried a firmer tone most of the week but hopes for solid price gains were dashed by two days of declining futures prices. USDA’s Cattle on Feed report was consistent with trade estimates.
Most industry analysts expect cow-calf operations will see positive margins in 2021 and over the next two or three years. That optimistic view is based on expectations for smaller cattle supplies going forward.
U.S. beef exports to Japan have exceeded the safeguard trigger negotiated under the USJTA which allows for temporary tariff increases. Demand for U.S. beef has surged as supplies from Australia has declined.
National Beef Packing Company, LLC, announced plans to increase processing capacity and production at its Iowa Premium facility located in Tama, Iowa. Capacity is expected to be increased to 2,500 head per day.
Canada is seeking to change its BSE status from a controlled-risk country to one of negligible risk. The change in status would allow Canadian cattle and beef greater access to foreign markets.
White Oak Pastures, a 3,200-acre multigenerational Georgia farm, says it offsets 100% of its grass-fed beef carbon emissions and as much as 85% of the farm’s total carbon emissions.
