A snapshot of beef cow inventories over the past three decades is essentially flat. The advancements in quality and productivity during that time, however, has been impressive.
Closer evaluation of factors driving today’s cattle markets do not suggest a ‘broken market,’ but rather strengthening prices which are the result of increasing consumer beef demand - both domestic and international.
Investment in better genetics, management, research, and promotion have all proven to make a difference towards bolstering demand. Consumers have more awareness of, and access to, high-quality beef products than ever.
Efforts to regulate profits away from packers is a commodity mindset, columnist Nevil Speer writes. A better investment of time and money is toward consumers and growing beef demand.
The farmer’s share of the retail beef dollar is often misinterpreted and is not a good measure of industry viability. Much of the discussion about farmer’s share works to commoditize the marketing system.
Famer’s share, the percentage of the retail dollar captured at the farmgate is an important topic, yet it’s easily misinterpreted and often conflated with other issues.
The revenue side of the business always gets the most attention. To that end, producers generally equate the marketing check to the financial health of the operation.
