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More days on feed means more opportunity for something going wrong – ultimately ending in increased death loss. Preventive illness management before arrival is more important than ever.

There’s mounting evidence of a protracted cattle cycle because whatever happens from here, Speer says, next year’s starting cow herd number will be down sharply.

Two years of herd liquidation confirm that cattle numbers are extremely tight with record prices the result. Now is the time to plan and manage for your future.

Despite the misrepresentation from some groups, your beef checkoff has paid huge dividends. And given that producers fund the program, there’s an obligation to portray the program factually. Here are some facts.

CBB member and co-chair of the Stakeholder Engagement Committee, Wisconsin cattleman Steve Spinger discusses why the Beef Checkoff invests a small percentage of its funding for Producer Communications.

Agriculture is changing rapidly; that inherently creates tension.  However, producers who operate believing “success is within my control” are the ones most likely to succeed amidst the turbulence.

Our industry is constantly evolving, but today’s consumer is changing even faster. As producers, we must put ourselves in their shoes because we’re ALL consumers at the end of the day.

Market prices for beef and cattle impact margins and short-term decisions at every level of the supply chain, but decisions concerning long-term financial health are driven by factors that may lead to structural change.

“Is this a buffalo?” asked a young 20-ish fairgoer as he stood before the Grand Champion Market Steer in the Hall of Champions at the Illinois State Fair. He looked at me – dead serious – awaiting my response.

Last week I learned I'm a 12-percenter, and if you're a Drovers reader it is likely you are a 12-percenter, too. That's not good, at least according to those who would regulate our dietary choices.

Cattle markets this summer have often provided a wide regional basis with cattle in the North trading well above futures. That's not to be misinterpreted as indicator of a broken market.

Are southern cattle feeders too passive when marketing cattle? Here’s what the data suggest.

Beef consumption vs, beef demand, a topic that continues to generate confusion. But it should be clear, per-capita consumption, "independent of prices, provides no meaningful information about demand.”

The well-defined costs of ranching and farming are often the focus of managing the business, but little watched regulatory costs can often become a burden to business operators.

The Checkoff is expanding its efforts to reach different consumer audience segments, and through the power of Checkoff-funded nutrition and health research, we’ve unlocked new audience groups.

If we are being honest, showing livestock is for crazy people. Late nights, early mornings and little time for social lives. But I think most stock show families would agree they live for summer to do just that.

Consumption data are often used to mislead and undermine the beef industry’s accomplishments and disparage the Checkoff. But such data in the absence of price data provides zero information about beef’s competitiveness.

Satire regarding instructions packers provide their buyers was published by a popular online newsletter, triggering cowboy conspiracy theorists to bloviate before they investigated. Our ex-reporter has the current facts.

Through 30 weeks, the 2023 cattle and beef markets have exceeded even the most bullish of forecasts. How does this year’s cattle market compare to 2014? Price only tells part of the story.

With estimates of 82% capacity utilization of fed beef plants next year and 65% for cow slaughter plants, Nalivka says, “Rest assured - there will be decisions made.”

Disciplined hedgers protect themselves against noise and volatility – the very essence of why futures markets exist, and why smart feeders use that tool.

Whether futures markets are friend or foe often depends on our understanding of those markets and whether we can ignore the drama and use facts to make decisions.

“I want you to know the importance of the people you allow into your life,” Ray Perryman said. “The company you keep has absolutely everything to do with where you end up. Be careful who you allow into your life.”

Further discussion about cattle markets leads our columnist to conclude: producers are “prone to have high confidence in unfounded intuitions” and we often derive conclusions based on incomplete information.

A new tactic by animal rights groups: Infiltrate and co-opt advocacy groups, politicians, and even farmers. "Phony Farm" groups present an ag face but have shared causes, and funders, with animal rights extremists.

The foundation for consumer beef demand is not just quality, but consistent quality.  Consumers want assurances the beef product they purchase today will be of the same quality as the beef they purchased last week.

Record packer margins were the tipping point to attract new capital to the business. There is now angst packer margins will be too low and these new companies won’t survive. But should we encourage government meddling?

Higher cattle prices have calmed much of the producer angst about the market not working. Now seems like a good time to analyze how we think about factors that drive prices.

Further processing of value-added products for direct sale to end-user customers in both retail and foodservice will increase over the next five years and help feed the growing global consumer demand.

Successful ranchers learn to remove emotion from a situation.  They subsequently they double down on the cost management side while also becoming more focused on value-added marketing strategies.

Solid prices gains are not new to cattle markets. Solid gains have been ongoing for several years and the fed market has roughly doubled over the past 35 months, a clear sign the market is not "broken."

The PRIME Act would severely jeopardize U.S. meat’s exemplary food safety record and could cripple demand for beef products to the detriment of family cattle farmers, says NCBA Policy Division Chair Gene Copenhaver.

Markets may be higher, but there’s inherently more risk with each calf crop over time. That reality means ranchers must implement sound business strategies to ensure successful decision-making going forward.

As supplies of market-ready cattle have declined, so has beef packer capacity utilization.

A previous column drew producer responses about the OFF Act. Nevil Speer reviews some of the broader themes regarding your Beef Checkoff.

"It is time for members of Congress to listen to those they truly represent," says R-CALF president Brett Kinzey, "the people whose passion and time is centered on their fields and pastures, not inside the Beltway."

One more column on the OFF Act regarding the coalition of groups that have some "dubious partners" with "questionable motives," Speer says.

Checkoff opponents contend the program is failing. So let’s dive into that contention with some added granularity and precision, says Speer.

Increasingly, U.S. and global agriculture are rapidly adopting a system driven by government regulations. Such regulatory activity should concern us all.

A misinformation campaign is underway attacking NCBA and endangering the programs that generations of farmers and ranchers worked hard to establish.

USDA’s proposed rule change to the Animal Disease Traceability (ADT) framework has given rise to several recurring arguments which offer confusion and distraction. 

Do beef producers share in the profits gained through international trade? Let's examine the data through the eyes of one of the industry's largest players.

An Alabama reader responds to a recent columns by Nevil Speer regarding the OFF Act and country-of-origin labeling.

A recent opinion published on Drovers about the OFF Act (Opportunities for Fairness in Farming) has drawn a response from R-CALF USA CEO Bill Bullard.

With a lower cattle inventory, per capita consumption will be the lowest since 2015.But while 2023 beef production will be down 6% from last year, it will still be 3 billion pounds greater than 2015.

The OFF Act (Opportunities for Fairness in Farming) is promoted as a cure for "swampy secrets" about commodity checkoffs. But the accusations evaporate under a review revealing vast misrepresentations and demagoguery.

Market economics go beyond supply and demand and other key drivers are becoming increasingly meaningful in the current market environment including adjustments to production capacity. 

OFF supporters, in their effort to undermine the Beef Checkoff, are touting a meaningless measure – and in turn boondoggle their own credibility. 

How fair officials and the local sheriff, both unencumbered by intelligence, tarnished your image as a livestock producer and created a public relations disaster.

Government intervention, or the free market? An esteemed ag economist implored the beef industry long ago not to “block changes that are being prompted by basic rules of economics.”