Latest News From Meat

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration extended its COVID-19 emergency declaration for Hours of Service (HOS) waivers for the transportation of livestock and livestock feed through Feb. 28, 2021.

The University of Illinois meat science research group was wrapping up a big project and the meats judging team was preparing to host a regional contest. Then, in the blink of an eye, COVID-19 sent everyone home. 

Pork exports continue to maintain a record pace in 2020, increasing 10% year-over-year in September. Beef exports were fairly steady with last year in major Asian markets, but trended lower overall.

The abbreviated judging season concluded Sunday at the High Plains Intercollegiate Meat Judging Contest in Hereford, which served as the 2020 national championship meet.

The fed cattle price recovery that has been painstakingly built since early September has eroded in an extraordinary decline over the past two weeks. 

Long term financial success for the beef industry will require fostering market approaches that are consistent with the future direction of the industry, says John Nalivka who supports a CME Beef Cutout contract.

The North American Meat Institute and the Alliance for Meat, Poultry and Seafood Innovation call on the USDA for mandatory labeling and input on what the labeling should look like.

The series of four webinars will feature guest speakers from three regional USDA Cattle and Carcass Training Centers, the CME group and the USDA’s Agricultural Marketing Service.

August exports of U.S. pork and beef muscle cuts were above last year's strong volumes, according to data released by USDA and compiled by the U.S. Meat Export Federation.

“Rules? In a knife fight?” Harvey Logan, in a scene from “Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid,” was incredulous at the suggestion.

To earn the Certified Angus Beef brand, Angus-influenced cattle, with predominantly solid black coats, must pass the brand's 10 additional carcass specifications. On Sept. 9 those measures got a slight update.

China made its largest weekly U.S. beef purchases on record last week, followed by its biggest U.S. corn deals in almost a month this week, according to U.S. Department of Agriculture data released on Thursday.

The fed steer and heifer market keeps working toward normalized levels, but at a very slow pace. Last week’s $101/cwt. steer price was roughly a dollar higher than the week prior.  

At the Cattle Industry Summer Business Meeting in Denver, U.S. Meat Export Federation (USMEF) President and CEO Dan Halstrom updated cattle producers on the state of U.S. beef exports.

Sterling Marketing President John Nalivka discusses with Drovers editor Greg Henderson the impact of COVID-19 on cattle and beef markets with an outlook for the remainder of 2020 and into next year.

Animal ID and traceability experts Dr. Dale Blasi and Dr. Nevil Spear will discuss the current technology and applications of traceability for beef producers.

The son of peanut farmers, Arnis Robbins never had a barbecue business on his radar screen, until life changed and his passion was born. Today he and wife Mallory cook up to 300 briskets a day in their Texas restaurant.

July and August are normally passive months where we look to put in the summer lows. In 2020 there are more obstacles to building a bullish attitude than normal as far as fed cattle values are concerned.

Cargill and TGI Fridays have teamed up to build Bold Heroes, a initiative designed to provide firefighters across the nation with TGI Friday’s frozen beef patties.

Texas Beef Team members have been challenged to help out communities statewide by volunteering their time or donating food to their local food banks. The “Texas Beef Team Gives Back" initiative runs through August 31.

Understanding U.S. beef import strategy requires an understanding of the U.S. hamburger market. Without imported lean trimmings, for instance, U.S. cow slaughter would need to double to meet demand.

70% of consumers surveyed plan to continue or increase online grocery shopping in the future.

In anticipation of July 4, estimated beef production for the week ending June 27 was 562.3 million pounds, up 5.3 percent year over year. 

Governor Reynolds, Secretary of Agriculture Naig and Iowa Beef Producers have partnered with Iowa State University, Iowa Food Bank Association to feed food-insecure Iowans.

With society running on a new schedule, chefs at the Certified Angus Beef ® (CAB) brand explored different ways to connect with consumers.

The market has seen significant changes since the CAB Insider two weeks ago. Fed cattle supplies and total federally inspected cattle harvest continues to ramp up to a level just short of the volume seen a year ago.

The 38th Annual Iowa Governor's Charity Steer Show (GCSS) will be held on August 15, 2020, despite the fact the Iowa State Fair has been cancelled.  

May’s all-fresh retail beef price set a new all-time record high for the price series, dating back to July 1987, at $7.04 per pound, according to USDA's Economic Research Service.

Through May 17, U.S. ground beef sales increased more than $1 billion compared to the same period last year. That’s just some of COVID-19’s impact on retail meat and poultry markets.

For three young ranchers, a direct-to-consumer business model helped them hit ground running with fewer barriers to entry.

Food supply chain experts say there is no need for consumers to rush to the grocery store and stock up on items they think are disappearing from the shelves.

Some American beef packing companies are adding to worker's hourly pay and sick leave in response to the COVID-19 emergency. Some will earn an additional bonus for working all their shifts through May 3.

Beef market conditions in the past two weeks have responded with tremendous force in the wake of COVID-19 as U.S. consumer buying at retail escalated to a frenzy.

Information is so available it's unreal. This reality made it ironic to be in the NCBA's cattle marketing committee meeting at the Cattle Industry Convention debating transparency and the need for more information.

Fears of the coronavirus continue to haunt the stock market despite the Federal Reserve’s efforts to calm it. Live cattle prices have dropped to numbers producers and traders haven’t seen in nearly a decade.

Market discussions in the current environment are challenging with near term pricing on the live cattle side of the business quite serious for many market participants.

At the NCBA Trade Show in San Antonio, Certified Angus Beef's director of packing explained the opportunities still open for producing Prime.

In January 2017, the FDA issued new rules requiring Veterinary Feed Directives for feed products containing “medically important” ingredients such as tetracyclines.

With true American influence comes a true American experience.

Selecting for just one trait can be ruinous in the cow-calf business—but it depends on how that one trait is related to others, and how well you keep the others balanced.

As we often find out after the fact, energies dedicated to react and repel tactics tend to be wasted. Consumers will ultimately drive demand for any product.

Earlier at the Cattle Industry Convention and NCBA Trade Show, USDA Secretary Sonny Perdue addressed the scare of the coronavirus to the beef industry. It still remains a threat today.

NAFTA was a trade pact written in the early 1990s. Derrell Peel, an extension livestock specialist with Oklahoma State University, is one who aided and gave his insights when trade negotiators were writing the deal.

We ended 2019 with 72% of the harvest reaching Choice grade and 8.6% Prime. There’s more premium beef on the market than ever. Could we be approaching our destination, maybe even delivering too much of a good thing?

The fed cattle market over the past two weeks has declined $3/cwt. from the January high of $124/cwt.

The Certified Angus Beef brand just launched a Steakholder Rewards loyalty program, offering members exclusive VIP experiences like a chef plan a holiday dinner, or a trip to a ranch and access to exclusive merchandise.

Trade pacts could be a game changer for American beef.

Researchers from the College of Veterinary Medicine have developed a faster, more efficient method of detecting Shiga toxin-producing E. coli, or STEC, in ground beef, which often causes recalls of ground beef.

A relatively quiet week in the fed cattle market last week with a sideways direction for the cash fed cattle price, now in its 4th week at the $124/cwt. level.

There are some new, numbers when it comes to beef production in the U.S. over the last 50 years. USDA researchers say production has increased by 25%. That's even while the number of cattle for beef has decreased by 6%.