Given the value of the current fed market, widening quality grade spreads and longer feeding periods across the industry, the importance of preventing BRD has never been more important.
Despite the misrepresentation from some groups, your beef checkoff has paid huge dividends. And given that producers fund the program, there’s an obligation to portray the program factually. Here are some facts.
Agriculture is changing rapidly; that inherently creates tension. However, producers who operate believing “success is within my control” are the ones most likely to succeed amidst the turbulence.
The discussion below highlights several items because of their potential influence on the industry over the long run. They’re addressed in no particular order; each one is independently important.
Cattle markets this summer have often provided a wide regional basis with cattle in the North trading well above futures. That’s not to be misinterpreted as indicator of a broken market.
Beef consumption vs, beef demand, a topic that continues to generate confusion. But it should be clear, per-capita consumption, “independent of prices, provides no meaningful information about demand.”
Consumption data are often used to mislead and undermine the beef industry’s accomplishments and disparage the Checkoff. But such data in the absence of price data provides zero information about beef’s competitiveness.
Through 30 weeks, the 2023 cattle and beef markets have exceeded even the most bullish of forecasts. How does this year’s cattle market compare to 2014? Price only tells part of the story.
