Feedyard
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.
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.
When was the last time you considered a subtractive approach? Not just cutting feed or input costs but an enterprise evaluation to ensure your time is optimized.
Beef may be in high demand but cattle prices struggle to hold steady. Fed cattle slipped $1 to $2 lower last week and auction prices for feeder cattle fell $1 to $5 lower, AMS reporters said.
Ample supplies of fed cattle continue to hang over the market as feedlots struggle to get more current. Beef packers have very large margins and appear to be trying to push kills in the face of limited capacity.
Feedyards across all regions sold cattle higher last week and are looking to push the market even further this week. Last week sales volumes were called light to moderate with packers chasing a tightening supply.
The reopening of restaurant and foodservice is driving beef demand to pre-pandemic levels and beyond, spiking wholesale beef prices $20 per cwt. higher this week, and more than $34 per cwt. higher over two weeks.
Demand for spring and summer grazing cattle remains high with prices reflecting good buyer competition. Agricultural Marketing Service reporters called last week’s prices for steers and heifers steady to $4 higher.
Cash cattle traded in light to moderate volumes last week, with the strongest prices in the North. Wholesale beef prices continued marching higher as demand continues strong.
Negotiated cash cattle slipped $1 to $2 lower last week, yet wholesale beef prices marched higher. USDA’s cattle on feed report found aggressive March placements.
Stocker and feeder cattle saw significant price reductions last week as grain markets continued marching higher in rapid fashion.
Last week only two days of harvest were considered cash trade. This lack of cash trade should give a clear indication that the corporate or “turn in” cattle are influencing the quick decline in the market.
Since the beginning of March, any year-over-year comparison of cattle slaughter and feedlot inventory flow has been interesting given the distortions in the flow of cattle resulting from COVID plant slowdowns last year
Cash fed cattle prices were lower $1 to $2/cwt. last week, arriving at an average just below $121/cwt. Futures weakness brought prices lower, despite the severe upward trajectory of carcass cutout values.
Many cattle feeders never received a bid on cattle last week, and the ones that did saw a bid one to three dollars lower than the week before.
April’s USDA Cattle on Feed report requires careful interpretation. The typical year-to-year comparisons are mostly meaningless because of the pandemic disruptions affecting markets one year ago.
One Kansas packing plant sat idle half the week for maintenance while others were reluctant bidders, leaving feeders with more cattle than available shackle space.
NCBA endorsed the Haulers of Agriculture and Livestock Safety (HAULS) Act of 2021. Introduced in the House by Rep. Rose and Rep. Soto, the bipartisan bill would deliver much-needed flexibility for livestock haulers.
Colorado Governor Jared Polis has effectively hung a “welcome” sign out encouraging radical activist groups to make mischief in his state and torment ranchers. The first salvo is called the PAUSE Act.
The spring rally in negotiated cash cattle prices continued last week as trade in the South developed early in the week with packers more aggressive than in recent weeks.
Beef exports have evolved significantly in a very dynamic environment of global politics and trade policies; direct and indirect impacts of animal disease outbreaks; and growing beef preferences and consumption.
Thanks to early adoption of innovative grazing practices combined with advances in cattle breeding and nutrition, U.S. producers have already employed many of the suggested practices the study suggests employing.
If the 2019 ratio between wholesale beef prices and cash fed cattle prices existed today, cash cattle prices would be $136 per cwt. That would amount to an additional $252 for a 1,400-pound fed steer.
Stocker and feeder cattle sold higher at auctions last week, but pressure on prices may develop as a result of the the WASDE report which projects smaller corn and soybean acres and higher grains prices.
Cash cattle prices in all regions saw higher prices for the second consecutive week as packers found tightening supplies of market-ready cattle.
USDA-NASS released two reports last week that added more fuel to red-hot grain and oilseed markets. The information about current and future corn markets has significant implications for cattle markets.
Cattlemen joining a March webinar hosted by the Certified Angus Beef ® brand learned how to understand beef carcass value and more while discovering the sources of premiums they earn for their best cattle.
The last six weeks of winter produced a sideways trade in cash cattle with little. The first week of spring saw changing attitudes and packers willing to take on more volume with prices from $1 to $3 higher.
Resilient Biotics, a North-Carolina-based startup, has been named the winner of the 2021 Beef Alliance Startup Challenge and has earned a chance to conduct a pilot with a Beef Alliance member company.
Fed cattle prices have not put together any sort of spring rally with cash markets trading in a narrow range for several weeks, but there is considerable optimism beginning in the second quarter of the year.