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U.S. red meat exports raced to a record performance in March with pork and beef exports each posting the highest monthly value ever, reaching a combined total of nearly $1.6 billion.

Expanding drought across the Central Plains becomes increasingly evident in cattle markets. Stocker and feeder cattle sold lower last week, even as demand for grazing cattle was called good in parts of the NC region.

It wasn’t the kind of cake U.S. Customs and Border Protection agriculture specialists were expecting to find while examining leftover baggage at Washington Dulles International Airport last month.

Many independent feeders are finding themselves fighting the same issues this year as they faced last year, yet feed costs are more than double what the were last year.

With the increased costs of beef production (especially feed and fertilizer) technologies that improve the efficiency of production are increasingly valuable.

The northern Plains has experienced severe drought since 2020, with alfalfa plants stressed due to a shortage of water. The lack of snow cover and temperatures below 0 F in February likely caused alfalfa winter-kill.

The cyclical expansion in cattle numbers from 2014 to 2019 has now pushed cattle slaughter beyond packing industry capacity. It is estimated that annual average slaughter has exceeded capacity since 2016.

By the time a rancher recognizes they have a “trich” problem, significant economic loss has already occurred. An effective way to prevent loss is to implement biosecurity measures to prevent disease introduction.

The Kansas State University Meat Animal Evaluation Team won National Champion honors at the 2021 Collegiate Meat Animal Evaluation Contest hosted in Manhattan, Kansas.

Production Animal Consultation and Midwest PMS will host a series of workshop training events in Kansas and Nebraska during the month of June for feedyard managers and employees.