Feedyard
Cash fed cattle prices traded higher for a fourth-consecutive week, reaching the highest average price since August of 2015.
Cattle price and profitability trends for producers are pointed in the right direction, even as challenges and uncertainty persist with continued disruptions from the pandemic.
The slaughter pace last week was the best we’ve seen in 2022, with an estimated Federally Inspected total of 659K. Given the previous week’s disappointing pace due to weather, these are very promising totals.
In the third installment of a who-knows-how-many series, Steve Cornett ruminates about the responses he’s gathered from readers who are either for or against Sen. Chuck Grassley’s proposed fix for cattle markets.
A level playing field for ranchers when marketing cattle is the most important issue for TSCRA, writes first vice president Arthur Uhl. But mandates on negotiated cattle trade raise more questions than answers.
Cattle feeders in the South saw three packers aggressively buying large numbers of cattle last week. Packers in the North continued to push hard to buy cattle in the eastern side of the region.
In the second installment of this series about the current cattle markets, veteran editor Steve Cornett visits with a Midwestern feeder who helps us understand Senator Grassley’s curmudgeonly attitude about packers.
Considering the production factors of the past two years, it’s logical to consider that advances in carcass quality, or higher marbling scores, will be less likely to develop in 2022 than in the previous two years.
This idea of mandating a certain level of cash cattle trade is a bit revolutionary in what has been an evolutionary change in cattle price discovery over these last couple of decades, says veteran editor Steve Cornett.
The winners of the 2022 Beef Quality Assurance (BQA) Awards, sponsored by Cargill, were announced during the annual Cattle Industry Convention & NCBA Trade Show, held Feb. 1-3, 2022, in Houston.
How can feedlot inventories be above year ago levels if the calf crop has declined the past three years? The usual flow of feeder cattle over time would suggest that feedlot inventories should have peaked in 2020.
The cash market finally saw some life last week. Packers seemed to be in more need for cattle and finally were in a position to have to raise bids to get cattle bought.
NCBA approved interim policy that removes any doubt about the group’s distaste for government to regulate “cattle producers’ freedom of choice to conduct their own business and utilize their own marketing programs.”
SenseHub Feedlot offers those who manage and care for cattle an innovative new approach to detecting illness, including bovine respiratory disease.
Cattle feeders saw nothing new in the live cattle trade last week as packers continued to be on limited head counts once again.
Production efficiency is key to sustainability including profitability, both at the ranch and for the industry as a whole, but that production efficiency doesn’t end at the ranch gate.
Cattle feeders in all regions saw participation by all packers in last week’s market, with prices mostly steady with the previous week.
Unexpectedly large December feedlot placements pushed feedyard inventories higher year-over-year, while marketings were in-line with pre-report estimates. Placements of lightweight cattle were nearly 10% higher.
Fed cattle markets have seen challenges in January. The Omicron variant is pressuring packing plant efficiency through increased worker absence, resulting in much smaller slaughter totals so far this month.
Absenteeism at major packing plants due to coronavirus has again helped create a backlog of market-ready fed cattle. Packers used that fact to push fed cattle prices lower last week.
Labor issues continue to plague the packing industry with this week’s slaughter volume lighter than anticipated. Worker absenteeism due to COVID has hindered packers’ ability to run full throttle and prices suffered.
Evaluating market fundamentals has led most analysts to project stronger price trends over the next few years. But just how high could prices go? Studying market patterns over the last 30 years provides valuable clues.
Developers of Cattlemen’s Heritage Beef Company are seeking investors for a proposed $450-million beef packing facility to be built in western Iowa south of the Omaha/Council Bluffs area.
Is the Biden Administration’s plan for the beef industry workable, or does it ignore the economics of market structure and pricing across the meat industry supply chain?
Cattle and beef market dynamics the past year were nothing if not volatile, and in some ways, unprecedented. Supply chain imbalances and processing sector issues have been the focal point of beef price inflation.
Packers needed cattle last week and pushed the cash market higher as the holiday-shortened weeks came to a close.
Cattle markets have improved significantly in the final weeks of 2021, with market analysts projecting those positive trends to continue in 2022.
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.