Markets
Cargill launches the Cargill Cares Employee Disaster Relief Fund to support employees around the world during times of catastrophic or personal disaster.
Slaughter numbers approached year-ago levels for the week as beef packers are operating at near-capacity and wholesale beef prices continue lower.
U.S. cattle slaughter was up an estimated 25% over the previous holiday-shortened week as beef packers gradually return to near-normal capacity utilization.
Cattle prices held firm as slaughter numbers increased and wholesale beef prices declined, though narrowing packer margins will place added pressure on markets in the weeks ahead.
Cash prices are steady for now, but Tyson turned down some cattle last week that they thought are now too big, which is a huge concern other feeders may encounter in the near future.
The feedlot industry will spend much of the summer working through the backlog of fed cattle but the hole from March and April feedlot placements should provide a marketing window to catch up by this fall if not before.
Global beef trade is dynamic and trade levels rise and fall based on factors such as changes in currency valuation, areas of drought and global demand.
Cash cattle prices traded higher last week, and for the first time in several weeks most of the major beef packing plants should be up and running this week, though not full-throttle.
Nebraska Cattlemen board amended existing policy to strengthen standing language by mandating packers to purchase a minimum of 50% of their weekly slaughter in the negotiated market.
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.