Fed Cattle
In a cattle working facility, the function of the crowding area, often called a “tub” is to funnel cattle into an alleyway on the way to the squeeze chute or loadout.
Packers desperate to keep their grasp on the cattle market looked to their inventory to keep the pressure on cash prices. Cattle feeders reluctantly traded lower.
With beef production falling, a relatively strong dollar and some global macroeconomic weakness, a decrease in exports has been expected.
Cash cattle prices retreated from the previous week’s historic highs and a seasonal decline was to be expected. Analysts, however, believe another rally is brewing later in the season.
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.”
Set to open in 2025, the Olathe, Kan., plant will further Walmart’s commitment to creating an end-to-end Angus beef supply chain.
One of the goals of feeding cattle a proper diet that promotes good gut health is to keep the lining of the intestinal tract from getting damaged.
The arrival of El Niño likely means that additional drought impacts will be minimal and herd expansion may begin. The July Cattle inventory report may be the first sign showing an increase of beef replacement heifers.
In this time of great leverage cattle feeders are finally discovering what it means to be a market maker and not a market taker.
A significant rally in fed cattle over the past three weeks confirms the front-end supply of cattle remains extremely current and cattle feeders have been willing sellers driven by good profits and a strong basis.
As temperatures ratchet up, the disorder is more frequently seen in fed cattle ready for slaughter. Veterinarians offer their take on what contributes to the problem and seven recommendations to help prevent it.
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.
Temperature, humidity, wind speed and solar radiation all affect cattle, but a Kansas State veterinarian said producers should also watch nighttime temperatures that are just as important in preventing heat stress.
Tightening supplies of beef and cattle are dominating market fundamentals and will continue to do so in the near-term.
Beef packers appeared unprepared for the rapidly tightening supply of market-ready cattle and the result was a rocket to new cash highs.
Packers were aggressive bidders in all regions as cash fed cattle markets made historic late-season moves higher in the holiday-shortened trading week.
As supplies of market-ready cattle have declined, so has beef packer capacity utilization.
Dr. Frank Mitloehner, often referred to as the “greenhouse gas guru,” spoke to the Blueprint For The Future Cattlemen’s Conference at Oklahoma State Universtiy.
Increasingly tight cattle supplies suggest that margins at all levels above the cow-calf sector will be squeezed in the coming months. The severity of the squeeze and the timing will vary across beef industry segments.
Packers unexpectedly found themselves chasing a limited supply of higher-grading cattle last week and the result was sharply higher prices in the North.
The price spread between Northern cash cattle sales and Southern sales more than doubles as packers struggle to find inventory to maintain acceptable capacity utilization.
The Protein PACT Academic Advisory Council is formed to advise on research priorities and the latest evidence related to meat production and consumption.
Moving forward, lower quality grades in May and lighter carcass weights combined with shorter fed cattle supplies may be expected, driving premiums into the high-quality cattle and beef markets.
The Food and Drug Administration is changing guidance for using implants in beef cattle after June 2023.
One more column on the OFF Act regarding the coalition of groups that have some “dubious partners” with “questionable motives,” Speer says.
“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.”
For the second time in a decade, drought has pushed cattle numbers in the U.S. lower than planned and lower than needed to meet the demands of the market.
The current front-end supply and winter delayed calf-feds have the northern packers stretched for inventory. Will that aid feeders’ ability to push prices higher in the coming weeks?
Cash cattle traded steady to higher with futures prices trading higher for the week. Wholesale beef prices finished the week near steady.
After Tyson Foods reports anemic first quarter sales and downgrades its forecast, The Wall Street Journal editors wrote, “This doesn’t look like an antitrust conspiracy or market oligopoly.”