Rancher
The Russia-Ukraine conflict produced another set-back for fed cattle last week. The industry is hoping this week will bring less volatility in the markets.
With revenues and costs rising, cattle producers must adjust cattle production and marketing to maximize profits.
Cash cattle saw average prices move slightly higher for the week while CME futures tumbled lower. USDA’s reported cattle on feed February 1 inventory was the highest for that month in the series going back to 1996.
Taking a detour into how stewardship and sustainability play a role in the future of cattle marketing, Steve Cornett offers the fourth installment of a who-knows-how-many series on proposals to reform cattle markets.
USDA announced the availability of up to $215 million in grants and resources as part of a continued effort to strengthen the meat and poultry processing sector and create a more resilient food supply chain.
Bos indicus cattle lag in their reproductive efficiency, something researchers at Texas A&M are trying to help fix with a recent medical breakthrough.
Cattle markets were hit hard Thursday on news of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Higher grain prices drove feeder cattle prices as much as $5 lower on CME feeder cattle futures and more than $2 lower for CME Live cattle.
Beyond Meat is set to release quarterly financial reports likely showing growing sales and increasing losses. As one analyst put it, “it seems the more faux meat they sell the more faux money they make.”
The strong volumes of fed slaughter suggest the large number of long-fed cattle are being worked through. Tightening supplies are being revealed and demand in the beef market is nothing short of incredible.
The increased use of alternative marketing arrangements has allowed feedlots to spend less effort and energy on guessing the market – and more work dedicated to consistent throughput, Nevil Speer says.
Help make your calving season as successful as possible by ensuring adequate colostrum, preventing cold stress and having a calving kit at the ready.
If drought is not a limitation in 2022, will cattle producers continue herd liquidation? The answer will be determined by what cattle producers want to do and can do relative to cow culling and heifer retention.
Cattle feeders saw active participation from all packers last week which helped push prices higher for a fourth consecutive week. Prices in the North remain at a premium.
Cash fed cattle prices traded higher for a fourth-consecutive week, reaching the highest average price since August of 2015.
Cattle prices are improving in all regions as cattle numbers have declined. Expansion and continuation of the current drought could cut cattle numbers even further and produce higher cattle prices.
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.
Wildfire activity is forecast to increase along and west of I-35 and into South Texas from Feb. 18-21. Texas A&M Forest Service firefighters have responded to 91 wildfires that burned 7,312 acres since Feb. 14.
Recipients of the Henry C. Gardiner Scholarships for the 2022-2023 school year at Kansas State University have been announced.
Located in Limon, Colorado, and managed by the Frasier family, River Bend Ranch has been named the 2022 BQA Cow-Calf Award Winners.
Hardware disease can be difficult to conclusively diagnose and clinical signs will vary based on where the hardware has penetrated. The best prevention of hardware disease is good management.
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.
While livestock’s greenhouse gas emissions are relatively minor in the U. S., methane emissions can be reduced by improving forage quality with the use of cool-season forages and legumes and using rotational grazing.
Randie Culbertson explained IGS technology, challenges with the multi-breed genetic evaluation, and how the technology works for seedstock and commercial producers during the Beef Improvement Federation Symposium.
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.
Thanks to above average rainfall across much of North Dakota last fall there is potential for cattle producers to see average forage production in 2022.
Calves that have incurred traumatic births are often are lethargic, clumsy and have little interest in nursing. These babies may benefit from a simple procedure called the “Madigan Squeeze Technique.”
Drought will be the principal determinant of the general cattle industry scenario in 2022. The current Climate Prediction Center drought outlook suggests drought may persist in regions of the west and northern plains.
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.
NCBA member and rancher Kim Brackett testified before the U.S. House Agriculture Subcommittee on Livestock and Foreign Agriculture on the cattle industry’s leadership in sustainability.