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Science may say beef production is carbon neutral, that animal welfare is the best it’s ever been, but for consumers in an era of skepticism, science is just another person’s opinion.

The market is sitting in a holding position in this mid $120’s range, and the movement is anticipated to remain flat for the short-term.

The latest monthly cattle on feed report showed the January 1 inventory in feedlots (over 1,000 head) at 11.958 million head, 102.3 percent of one year ago.  This is the largest January on-feed total since 2008.

Agricultural Marketing Service reporters said the market was most active on “lightweight cattle, in light flesh, as numbers of those cattle are not as plentiful as their heavier mates.”

Performance Livestock Analytics (PLA) and Top Dollar Angus are partnering to help seedstock and commercial cattlemen simplify data entry and capture more value from their management decisions.

Despite an average $1 decline in cash fed cattle prices last week, cattle feeding margins remained solidly profitable on a cash basis.

While the CME futures was under distress last week, hedgers were able to receive the best basis they have seen for several weeks and the result was a steady cash market.

Cattle feeders were unable to push the cash market higher, settling for mostly steady money as packers were noticeably less aggressive with much narrower profit margins.

A series of workshops for feedyard managers and employees will be held in Kansas and Nebraska next month that will provide practical tips and strategies for successful feedyard operation.

The Beef Quality Assurance program has certified more than 100,000 producers through its online learning system, with hundreds of thousands certified since the program's inception in the early 1990s.

Beef packer profit margins fell to their lowest level in nearly two years last week while cattle feeding margins exceeded triple digits for the second consecutive week.

Lawyers for America’s largest beef packing companies asked a federal judge on Friday to dismiss the class action suit filed against them by a group of ranchers last year.

A pair of lawsuits filed last year involving a packing company and two producers have been dismissed following a confidential settlement.

Surplus packer inventories and halted Saturday kills due to dwindling processing margins has stalled out the cash cattle market for now.

Widespread wildfires mean Australian cattle and beef production will be reduced for the foreseeable future and rebuilding, whenever it can begin, will take several years.

Steers and heifers suitable for grazing programs sold sharply higher in the week ended Jan. 10. AMS reporters called demand good to very good at livestock auctions nationwide.

Walmart held a grand opening of its Thomasville, Georgia, beef processing facility that will supply Black Angus beef to some 500 of its retail stores in the southeast.

Cattle feeding profit margins exceeded beef packer margins last week for the first time in more than two years as cash cattle prices have increased 20% since September.

No paid time off and no health insurance is the norm for livestock employees.

Packers were aggressive in obtaining inventory to start the new year, and the result was a cash cattle market that gained $2 in both the north and south.

The new year brings with it several changes in ongoing market dynamics, some new opportunities, and some new risks and continuing challenges for cattle and beef markets.

Over the past 10 weeks, cattle feeders have gained market leverage in a rally the likes of which have not been seen in many years.

John Nalivka's projections for the 2020 Cattle Inventory show a decline of 1.6%, which, if realized, would be smallest inventory number since 2016.

As consumers glean more information about where their food comes from, producers need to focus on how they manage their farm or ranch. Beef Quality Assurance certification is a good place to start.

Cash cattle prices traded higher in the north, with dressed sales reported $3 to $5 higher. Feeder cattle markets saw a limited holiday-week test.

Packers were eager to push their inventory higher last week and prices in all regions responded by moving $1 to $2 higher.

Cash cattle prices traded $1 to $2 ahead of Friday's USDA Cattle on Feed report which reported a 2.5% increase in the number of cattle in feedlots.

As 2019 rapidly comes to a close and the holiday season is upon us, Americans have an abundance for which to be thankful.  This is particularly true with regard to food production in the U.S.

As 2019 rapidly comes to a close and the holiday season is upon us, Americans have an abundance for which to be thankful.  This is particularly true with regard to food production in the U.S.

When diners come into Prime Cincinnati steakhouse and expect to spend “a couple hundred dollars” for a meal, it’s a responsibility executive chef Shawn Heine doesn’t take lightly.

Beef packers saw their margins decline to the lowest level since before the Tyson packing plant fire August 9 as beef cutout prices declined and cash cattle prices increased.

Hereford breeders have made significant genetic progress during the last decade — posting a 17% reduction in birth weights, a 20% increase in growth traits and an impressive 150% gain in marbling since 2008.

In anticipation of reduced harvest during the holidays, packers are sitting in a good inventory position going into the next few weeks.

Sharply higher carcass weights have boosted beef production, though another round of winter weather hitting parts of cattle feeding country may temper that in the last few weeks of the year. 

Steers and heifers sold at auctions this week steady to $3 lower. AMS said with the holidays and the end of the year fast approaching, many auction markets saw heavy runs of cattle.

Brazilian federal prosecutors have charged JBS S.A. and its holding firm J&F Investmentos, along with 14 other individuals, for alleged fraud in the approval of investments and loans by national development bank.

Beef exports were down 9.0 percent in October compared to last year, contributing to a 4.2 percent year over year decrease in beef exports for the first ten months of 2019.

Last week was one of the last chances for cattle feeders to push the market up to the $120-plus price range. Three packers were in the market to buy cattle by feeders chose to settle for steady money.

A recent study that didn’t condemn red meat drew outrage from numerous self-proclaimed health authorities. But a prominent M.D. has now weighed in with the opposite opinion.

Severe weather inevitably means management challenges and higher costs for producers but may also have market impacts if poor conditions are widespread enough.

Cattle feeders took a firmer grip on the rope last week with a cash fed cattle price more than $2/cwt. higher than the week prior, although that detail is lost in the pricing table due to rounding.

Designed to identify superior Hereford-influenced feeder cattle, the Hereford Advantage program now offers additional benefits to add value to feeder cattle.

The U.S. Cattlemen's Association calls for "accurate meat labels" and noted they have asked FSIS to use certain labeling claims to be used exclusively for cattle "born, raised and slaughtered" in the U.S.

Feedyards saw closeouts improve dramatically last week after the cash cattle market posted its third consecutive week of higher prices.

USCA has submitted a request to U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin for an investigation of Marfrig Global Foods’ “near-acquisition” of U.S.-based National Beef Packing Company.

NCBA says it will work with the USDA's Food Safety Inspection Service (FSIS) to address the Agency’s longstanding policy on geographic origin statements for beef.

New research highlights the ability of behavior monitoring to predict disease while enhancing health outcomes and making the pen rider's job easier.

The cash cattle market continues to be the best broken-record producers ever heard of late as three of the four major packer participated in the live trade last week.

Cattle genetics have changed over the years, and one Kansas cattle feeder wants to make sure finishing practices have kept up.

Cash fed cattle trade was active on Wednesday, surging $2 to $4 higher the day before Thanksgiving, with demand strong in all major cattle feeding regions.