Latest News From Beef Production

Drought pushed more cattle into feedlots earlier this year and kept feedlot totals higher for longer, but the latest on feed data shows numbers declining.

Begin the new year with a cow-calf record keeping system that helps identify the most productive and efficient animals in your herd.

Cold stress increases a cow’s energy requirement and can pull down her body condition. As winter storms have already swept through cattle country, here's some tips to help your herd now through spring.

From the docks of Southern California and Europe to the parcel hubs in the Midwest and the store shelves in New York, signs are growing that the global supply chain crisis is over.

Reduced supplies of both cows and feeder cattle will support higher prices. Drought is expected to moderate.

Packer margins remain in the red even as wholesale beef prices rallied $9 per cwt. and cash cattle prices were near steady.

The best way to engage with Certified Angus Beef is by raising cattle that qualify for the brand. CAB shares ways producers focused on raising high-quality beef can be more connected with the brand.

Cattle producers know that cold temperatures mean extra supplement and hay may be needed. But how much extra feed are we talking about?

How do you control the rat and mice population on your place? While they may seem harmless, these rodents, if not controlled, can bring economic and health impacts.

Ranchbot has developed reliable, remote water monitoring solutions that can be viewed anytime, anywhere from the palm of your hand.

When cows get below their lower critical temperature and get into cold stress, they can adapt by increasing feed consumption to increase their basal metabolic rate and increase heat of fermentation.

A powerful holiday-week storm will unfold across the central U.S. from Thursday into Friday and unleash heavy snow and strong winds. Is your farm ready for the storm?

Though retail beef prices are lower than a year ago, prices remain historically higher as inflationary challenges affect the overall U.S. economy and projected fewer cows heading into 2023.

In general, feeder cattle markets are finishing 2022 strong with momentum going into the new year, even as the drought caused significant changes in the timing of feeder cattle marketing.

Looking ahead, the packers will look to utilize the upcoming holiday weeks to slow the slaughter pace and curb the bids for fed cattle.

Cattle prices were generally steady as packers have their holiday orders filled. Feeder cattle and calves traded mixed.

On a day-to-day basis, major changes to the landscape can be difficult to recognize and nearly impossible to quantify as some occur slowly and tend to go unobserved when viewing the range each day.

Coccidiosis is an intestinal disease that affects several different animal species. In cattle, it may produce clinical symptoms in animals from 1 month to 1 year of age, but it can infect all age groups.

In addition to playing an important role in reproductive efficiency, vitamin A is essential for vision, bone growth, and maintaining epithelial tissue such as skin and hooves.

Domestic sales and distribution of medically important antimicrobial drugs approved for use in food-producing animals decreased by less than 1% between 2020-21. Compared to 2015 (peak year), 2021 sales decreased 38%.

When a significant number of cattle died in less than two hours, a number of questions are raised. Kansas State University experts discuss this toxicology case and the answers that were found.

The CAB carcass cutout price has remained resilient into the middle of December, giving up only $5.41/cwt. or 1.9% in the past month.

Determining how much forage cows will eat on a per day and per month basis for the duration of winter always requires a little “cowboy math”.

As cattle producers, we can learn something new every day. Considering your goals and what will move the operation forward, what can you learn today for a better tomorrow?

Understanding the amounts of mold and mycotoxins present can help with deciding which classes of cattle to feed and how much silage can safely be included in the diet.

An Arkansas scientist has shown that a common and inexpensive hormone additive may mitigate the ill effects on growth performance of calves born to cows grazed on endophyte-infected fescue pastures during gestation.

Market-ready cattle saw a light trade into a softer market. Packer margins are in the red, but feedlots are firm sellers with showlist numbers declining.

Why marbling matters for beef demand, and how it all depends on production management at the ranch.

Proper hay storage is always important.  This year, with limited amounts of harvested forage available and record high prices, it is worth discussing some simple storage practices that can lead to less spoilage. 

Has the hype cooled for plant-based meat alternatives? Purdue economist Jayson Lusk thinks so. Here's why.

A year of historic droughts causing record-high cow slaughter will be remembered for many years to come. Here’s a look at the cattle industry by number and what we may expect in 2023.

Farmers typically focus on biosecurity protocols on the farm, but don't forget some threats come from outside the farm. Animal rights extremists continue to attempt to gain access to farms by any means necessary.

Negative margins continue growing for beef packers as tightening supplies of cattle support cash prices $17 per cwt. higher than the same week a year ago.

Whether in the feedlot or out in the pasture, cattle management and handling practices are important considerations for both the animals and employees.

How you feed backgrounded calves may affect how they perform in the feedlot. With higher cattle prices and high input prices this year it’s worth revisiting your backgrounding program.

How many steps are in your cattle record-keeping process? Keeping up-to-date records is critical when improving your profitability through breeding stock. However, could extra steps be wasting your time?

Improving feeder futures prices, a stronger fed cattle market and limited supplies of feeder cattle all combined to push prices higher following Thanksgiving.

Though it’s not quite like knowing the winning lottery numbers before they are drawn, there are some valuable insights to gain from understanding the cattle cycle and what the future might hold.

After realizing historic profits the past couple of years, beef packers now find themselves in a similar position as their cattle feeding suppliers experienced - shrinking margins and reduced leverage.

Cash cattle trades a week following the Thanksgiving rally saw steady prices, but the steadily declining supply of harvest-ready cattle will continue to shift bargaining leverage to producers.

If you do need to purchase hay to fill a forage gap this winter, there are some risks that need to be considered.

Data released by USDA on Monday shows the farm share of the U.S. food dollar hit an all-time low in 2021. However, USDA says the decrease doesn’t necessarily mean producers are making less.

With the turn of the calendar year, bull sale season hits the ground running across cattle country. Be sure to consider all the options when it comes to attaining a bull.

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration has denied an exemption for Hours-of-Service rules for truckers transporting livestock, insects and aquatic animals.

By analyzing expenses of your operation and where you spend your time each day, there may be areas to improve to create a more financially sustainable operation.

The pendulum continues swinging toward cattle feeders as cash prices jumped $3 last week and left packers with their largest negative margins in nearly six years.

Britt Farms of Clifton Hill, Missouri, located in Randolph County, has been selected as the recipient of the 2022 Missouri Leopold Conservation Award®.

Genetic improvement can be complicated. Here’s a look at the basics.

It seems likely that many producers have adjusted herd inventories, given hay and feed supplies, to be able get through the winter.

Packers were forced to raise bids to acquire inventory during the holiday-shortened week, extending the autumn price rally.