Will Strong Trade Be Enough To Support Cattle Prices?
2/22/18 Beef's Trade Priorities
U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) expects international demand for U.S. beef to stick around in 2018. Its latest forecast calls for 3 billion pounds of exports in 2018.
However, these last few years of strong shipments are seeing more uncertainty in 2018.
Earlier this week, February and April fat cattle hit limit down. According to Top Third Ag Marketing, in one minute of trading, futures traded 250 to 350 points lower during Wednesday. The “flash-crash” erased six days of rally in one minute.
Trade is in limbo as the U.S. negotiates multiple trade agreements. Producers hope these agreements will stay in place to support prices.
AgDay national reporter, Betsy Jibben, discusses the trade picture with Craig VanDyke, market analyst with Top Third Ag Marketing; Colin Woodall, senior vice president of government affairs with the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association (NCBA); Dan Halstrom, president and CEO of the U.S. Meat Export Federation (USMEF); and Trevor Amen, animal protein economist with CoBank.
