King Ranch has acquired a 50% stake in Cobalt Cattle, the nation’s fourth-largest cattle feeding operation with six feedyards in Colorado, Kansas and Texas.
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.
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.
Cattle and hog feeding both saw solid average profits for the week ending April 2, boosted by higher average farmgate prices. Cattle were positive for the second week, while positive hog margins entered a third month.
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.
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.
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.
Cash prices for both cattle and hogs advanced last week leaving feeding margins for both species solidly in the black. Hog margins were positive for the eighth consecutive week and cattle climbed out of the red.
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.
Cash cattle markets carried a firmer tone most of the week but hopes for solid price gains were dashed by two days of declining futures prices. USDA's Cattle on Feed report was consistent with trade estimates.
Market hogs sold last week earned an average profit margins nearly four times that of fed steers. That’s mainly due to a rally that has added more than $20 per cwt. to lean hog carcass prices over the past month.
The first hint of green grass was evident throughout much of the Midwest last week, and moisture across the High Plains was welcome with warmer weather on the way. Demand for grass cattle was high.
Cattlemen experienced a wide variety of weather across the Central Plains and mountain states last week, bringing much-needed moisture along with some unwelcome cold temperatures.
The benefits of protein as part of a healthy adult diet was drawn from checkoff-funded research conducted by North Dakota State University and presented to dieticians and nutritionists at a recent symposium.
The calendar still read January the last time cattle prices saw an advance. Cattle feeders believed they were gaining market leverage and demand might soon spike. Instead, cattle finished a sixth week trading steady.
The CME Group has begun publishing a Boxed Beef Index, a new pricing tool that tracks daily value further down the supply chain, focusing on the prices paid for Choice and Select cuts of beef.
Market hogs found twice the profit margin of fed steers last week due to a rally that has added nearly $22 per cwt. to lean hog carcass prices over the past month, while cash cattle prices have been stuck in neutral.
For the second consecutive week, feeder cattle auction receipts increased substantially following February’s storms. Prices, however, declined again for the second week as demand was called moderate to good.
There appeared to be more cattle trade than what we have seen for several weeks, but with only one or two packers needing cattle it was difficult for feeders to push the market higher.
USDA's Animal Health Monitoring System (NAHMS) is conducting a national study focusing on cattle health and management in U.S. feedlots with at least 50 head.
The Cattle Transparency Act of 2021 was introduced in the Senate to mandate weekly minimum cash cattle trades. NCBA policy supports a voluntary approach to increase negotiated trades to regionally sufficient levels.
The first week of March saw warm temperatures across most of the Central Plains, but cash cattle prices were frozen in neutral with feeders unable to wrangle additional market leverage.
Proposed legislation that is perceived to make markets work better and solve a problem often has the opposite effect, argues Sterling Marketing president John Nalivka.
There are few no-risk options in the cattle business, but calves with reputation, high-growth potential and a well-executed health program should provide cattle feeders with relatively fewer health challenges.
U.S. Cattlemen's Association supports the Cattle Market Transparency Act, which seeks to ensure regionally sufficient negotiated cash trade, and equipping producers with more information to aid marketing decisions.
Cattle and hog finishing margins were headed in opposite directions last week, with lean hog prices enjoying a three-week rally while cattle prices were stuck in neutral for a second week.
Packers, as usual, were in a position of leverage and needed very little cattle for the next week’s harvest. This continues to be the biggest problem with driving the cash price higher.
Cattle numbers will continue to contract in 2021, and producers will gain leverage on packers and retailers and margin distribution will be more equitable, according to CattleFax.
U.S. beef exports are expected to increase modestly in 2021 to reach the second highest level behind the 2018 export record. A key to export growth includes continued growth in the China/Hong Kong market.
Beef packers continued to maintain their strangle-hold on the market this week. Rising boxed beef cutout prices will pad packer profits – likely to exceed $400 per head.
The “Discovering True Carcass Value Webinar” sponsored by Certified Angus Beef will explore cutout values and how CAB carcasses add value beyond Choice.
Cattle feeding margins were little changed from the previous week with modest profits. Hog feeding margins were boosted for a third week with another advance in lean carcass prices.
Beef production slowed to a virtual standstill in the South due to extreme winter weather. Heavy demand on electricity and natural gas limited packers from running at capacity, and their need for inventory was limited.
Last week’s winter storm and brutally cold temperatures caused many auction markets to cancel sales. Those that were open saw stocker and feeder cattle prices higher.
The U.S. Roundtable for Sustainable Beef (USRSB) announces the launch of additional sustainability modules for both the feedyard and auction market sectors.
The feedlot situation in early 2021 is a carryover from the disruptions and unusual dynamics last year. For the entire year in 2020, feedlot placements were down 4.0 percent.
Negotiated cash cattle prices traded higher in all regions while many feeder cattle auctions were cancelled due to winter snow and brutal cold temperatures. Cattle on Feed 1% higher on Feb 1 compared to last year.
Extreme winter conditions and temperatures well below zero have been widespread across the country impacting most of the major central cattle feeding region.
Negotiated cattle traded steady to higher for the week with moderate volumes ahead of a major winter storm that is likely to increase feeding costs and reduce market weights.
In December 2020, Congress added a provision to a COVID relief bill establishing a Statutory Dealer Trust, which give unpaid sellers first priority rights in their livestock or the proceeds of their livestock.
The Masters of Beef Advocacy (MBA) program launched updated advocacy training modules – MBA NextGen. Updated information and resources to help answer consumer questions are all accessible on their website.
Claiming Easterday Ranches conducted a “fire sale” of one of its feedlots just days before filing for bankruptcy, Tyson Foods asks a U.S. Bankruptcy Court to appoint a trustee to take control of the Easterday estate.
New research shows Enogen corn for feed, fed to cattle as grain or silage, helps convert starch to sugar more efficiently, resulting in more readily available energy for livestock, thus providing environmental benefits.
