In the cattle and beef industry, widely varying seasonal price patterns exist for all classes of cattle as well as for each of the many beef products produced in the industry.
Boxed beef prices increased about ten percent over the month of October into early November, a significantly higher increase than the normal seasonal bump.
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.
Current wholesale beef values are lower year-over-year, but it's too early to gauge what impact the COVID-19 virus has had on both export and domestic beef demand.
No matter how cow-calf producers judge the past year – good, just okay or disappointing – there is value in taking some time to analyze the reasons for the outcome.
The coronavirus is another “black swan” that is different in some fundamental ways from other such events in cattle markets, such as the packing plant fire last year or even the first BSE case in late 2003.
As snow, ice and frigid temperatures hit the middle of the country, the biggest concern right now is the long tail this cold weather could have on livestock, AgDay’s Clinton Griffiths reports.
