The first shipments of the Certified Angus Beef ® (CAB®) brand arrived in China in November, ushering in the potential for a new, powerful buyer for high-quality U.S. beef.
Steers and heifers sold higher at auctions on the Northern Plains, with feeder cattle trading uneven at auctions in the Southeast and South Central regions.
Negotiated cash fed cattle drifted lower throughout the week with a range reported at $3 to $10 lower. Feeder cattle sold uneven though demand remains moderate to good.
Early week fed cattle sales were steady at $95 to $100 per cwt., and $150 dressed. Friday, however, saw one major jump in and buy a few thousand cattle at $105, $5 higher than last week.
The beef cattle industry will receive $5.1 billion of CFAP funding to partially offset 2020 losses due to COVID-19. USDA expects to begin sign-up in early May and distribute payments by late May or early June.
COVID-19 has temporarily placed a restriction on the number of cattle that can be harvested in a given week. That scenario is usually a recipe for lower prices, but this week’s extremely light fed trade was steady.
During a Facebook Live address to cattlemen Monday night, R-CALF CEO Bill Bullard outlined four actions his group proposes to "restore balance to our dysfunctional cattle markets."
