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The South Dakota Farmers Union is seeking investors to help purchase the DemKota Ranch Beef packing plant in Aberdeen, S.D., which has capacity to harvest 1,200 fed cattle per day.
Some operational changes made by the packing and processing centers are likely to remain after the COVID-19 pandemic is over, leaving some higher costs in the supply-chain.
Blue Grass Stockyards and Top Dollar Angus will collaborate around a shared vision to significantly expand the number of Top Dollar Angus verified cattle east of the Mississippi River.
First-of-its-kind report from Farm Journal’s Trust In Food initiative and The Sustainability Consortium explores the complex relationship among farmers, their operation’s production data and conservation.
The cattle industry sees a glimmer of hope in last week’s harvest data, with estimated slaughter at 452,000 head, down 32.2 percent year-over-year, but up 6.4 percent from the prior week.
Boxed beef cutout values continue to perform like the early days of Bitcoin trading, with Choice advancing $84 per cwt. since last Friday.
In a letter to NCBA officers, agricultural economist Stephen R. Koontz says his work is taken out of context when used as a support for mandating beef packers to purchase at least 30% of their cattle on a cash basis.
The closure of 90% of American meat plants over the last 50 years isn’t due to a lack of knowledge or a failure to reinvest in facilities – it’s due to decades of lax antitrust enforcement, says Joaquin Contente.
Cattle are adaptable to a variety of feeding systems and programs, and their growth can be programmed in a very predictable way through changing the net energy of the ration or using “programmed feeding.”
The loss of the food service demand caused beef middle meats to drop to their lowest price in a decade. Conversely, the carcass cutout value has increased, driving a wider spread between live cattle and carcass values.
For technology to have value, it must be predictive in both the sick and healthy to minimize treating healthy calves and find those sick calves early.
The cattle industry continues to struggle getting cattle out of feedyards and into harvest facilities, leading to another week of limited trade.
The reduced number of cattle harvested wasn’t a surprise with the issues that all packers have faced in the past few weeks with COVID-19.
Plant closings and slowdowns are major symptoms of the meat and poultry industries’ disruption due to COVID-19 and product distribution and livestock production are also critical to a smoothly running supply chain.
Vaccines can cost more than $3.00 per dose, and if not stored properly they can be rendered ineffective. Producers cannot afford to overlook the importance of how they store vaccines and handle them prior to injection.
Cattle feeders experienced a week of light participation from packers as the impact of COVID-19 begins to hamper beef production facilities.
Zoetis announces the acquisition of Performance Livestock Analytics to enhance its animal health solutions across the continuum of care for beef producers.
Cash cattle prices were under pressure as packer demand was soft in both the North and South last week. Numbers of ready cattle will grow in the coming weeks.
Cattle prices were in full retreat, giving back all the previous week’s gains. The magnitude of the decline was on full display at feeder cattle auctions with the rollback accelerating throughout the week.
The unprecedented events surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic have led to a severe economic downturn and will impact livestock markets going forward.
Can prices gained in last week’s fed cattle rally be maintained? There is some concern that the lack of cattle moving in the cash trade is starting to back cattle up and hurt hard-earned gains.
COVID-19 has fundamentally changed consumer behavior and the U.S. economy. The effects are unprecedented and it is difficult to determine how long the impact will last.
After several days of up and downs in CME futures prices, cattle feeders saw their chances of getting back to steady slip away on Thursday as the board sold off.
Does the beef industry need additional packer slaughter capacity? Recent history suggests cattle prices were highest when packing capacity utilization was lowest, but the answer is complex.
At the NCBA Trade Show in San Antonio, Certified Angus Beef’s director of packing explained the opportunities still open for producing Prime.
Cash fed cattle traded at $113 per cwt. for the week, $2 lower. Cattle sold on a dressed basis at firm prices of $182 per cwt.
Current wholesale beef values are lower year-over-year, but it’s too early to gauge what impact the COVID-19 virus has had on both export and domestic beef demand.
Three Tyson Foods, Inc. sustainability programs achieved recognition for alignment to the U.S. Beef Industry Sustainability Framework.
If there was ever a question of how much outside influence there is on the cattle market it was completely exposed this past week with fears over the coronavirus growing.
At a 50,000-head feed yard, there are all types of cattle. But one Kansas cattle feeder knows that no matter the class and kind, they all do better with some TLC.