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During the past six months, beef consumers have reinforced their preference for product at the top end of the market. Both branded and Prime products have been supported by unprecedented demand.

The December Cattle on Feed report, released on Friday, was the sixth consecutive month of year-over-year decreases in feedlot inventories, though November and December totals were only down slightly.

Cattle feeders anticipated cash cattle prices would be softer since packers were working with holiday-shortened hours last week. Packers will need cattle this week to fill full-week schedules.

Concerns over the COVID-19 variant headlined news last week. Bob Utterback of Utterback Marketing and Mark Gold of StoneX Group both say they are friendly on cattle and hog prices, but caution about outside influences.

Drought brings many nutritional and animal health-related challenges for ranchers. Cow performance issues during the grazing season may result from reduced forage quality and quantity.

Western Kansas ranchers faced the extreme in December. With winds clocking in north of 100 mph, warnings of wildfires came fast. And as ranchers face a long recovery, neighboring ranchers are rushing in to help.

For the upcoming 2023 farm bill, expect chatter and debate about carbon markets, conservation, trade and more. Policy watchers encourage farmers to keep an eye on these issues, as discussions begin in January.

Earlier this week, the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association policy team convened to summarize their efforts on The Hill in 2021.

The Arizona Cattle Industry Research & Education Foundation will sponsor a symposium for western ranchers in Mesa, AZ, February 18 and 19, 2022.