Rancher
Significantly reduced slaughter levels brought the full weight of the COVID-19 crisis to bear on cattle markets this week as cash cattle prices declined and boxed beef prices spiked to record highs.
While any tally of cattle waiting on shackle space is – at best – an estimate, an analysis of Cattle on Feed and slaughter data suggests estimates of 1 million cattle backlogged may be overstated by as much as 50%.
Two of America’s largest beef packing companies have announced plant closings due to COVID-19. One in effect until April 20 and one until April 24. The plants have a combined harvest capacity of 6,500 cattle per day.
Cow and bull slaughter for 2021 continues outpacing last year’s totals, and cow processing plants are operating at higher capacity utilization levels than fed cattle plants.
Both beef demand and Certified Angus Beef® brand acceptance rates are at all-time highs, creating a formula for record-setting improvements. Fiscal year 2021 was the brand’s second highest sales year on record.
Most round bales are typically stored outside and unprotected because of their ability to shed moisture. It’s not always easy to control weather related losses, but producers can minimize storage losses.
Cattlemen considering making the leap into ownership of a packing plant should consider how their risk profile dramatically changes with labor, trucking, and the cost of building and retaining markets.
Producing Wagyu beef is as much an art as it is stockmanship, according to Kenichi “Ken” Kato, well-known butcher and restaurant owner in Japan, who is four generations deep in the Wagyu culture.
Average drought conditions currently are slightly worse than the drought conditions at this time last year. Although there has been some regional changes in drought situation, the overall picture has not changed much.
Cash fed cattle prices moved higher last week with all packers participating. This week cattle feeders will look to keep the momentum going.
Cash fed cattle prices finally broke out of a weeks-long rut, trading $2 to $4 higher in all regions. This week saw the highest prices of the year and the highest average since 2019.
“I have a sense of certainty that she knew, as that day was the first cold morning of fall, that she had lived out the last of her summers. A chapter in our history closed on that hill on that perfect fall afternoon.”
Winter hay feeding is a reality for most producers and some use high quality hays such as alfalfa for supplementation. In both instances, a forage analysis is essential to cost effective and efficient use of the hay.
Sustainable Beef LLC, the Nebraska firm that announced plans to build a 1,500-head per day beef slaughter facility in North Platte, will seek $21.5 million in tax increment financing (TIF) from the city.
The report issued this month by 17 ag economists, “The U.S. Beef Supply Chain: Issues and Challenges,” warns against mandating minimum cash trades for fed cattle. Nevil Speer urges producers focus on consumers.
Cattle producers do a good job raising more beef with fewer resources, but more progress can be made in achieving the industry’s sustainability goals, Feeding Quality Forum attendees are told.
Determining the most cost effective means of supplementing cows requires the evaluation of feeds on a cost per unit of protein and energy provided.
An attempted robbery at a rural Alberta property resulted in more legal woes for a rancher than for the thieves, and the case has become a flashpoint in the debate about rural landowners’ rights to defend their property.
A bipartisan letter was sent the FTC to investigate the growing concentration in the meatpacking and processing industry, and any anticompetitive behavior resulting from this concentration.
The fourth-quarter seasonal price pattern over five years has seen a 12% increase from September through year end. Weekly carryover must shrink before packers see a supply incentive to move bids significantly higher.
Producers who have relocated their cattle out of state for winter feeding this year should consider having a weed management protocol in place when the cattle return.
Complete reporting by breeders is essential to Wagyu breed improvement, according to Colorado State geneticist.
Standardized ecological, social and economic indicators can help ranchers track and communicate about sustainability, which is vital to feeding a growing world.
While it has taken longer than expected to turn the corner on tighter feedlot supplies, the change may be relatively sudden as the dynamics of fall placement weights should result in a rapidly changing inventory.
Packers were willing to take a little lower grading animal last week, but cattle feeders may have a limited window to get those undesirable cattle market before larger supplies appear on showlists.
Market-ready cattle numbers decline with little affect on prices, signaling supplies remain ample compared to slaughter capacity. Cattle on feed numbers were lower versus year-ago for the first time in 16 months.
The House Agriculture Committee passed the Chronic Wasting Disease Research and Management Act with a unanimous vote, allotting $70 million annually to chronic wasting disease (CWD) control.
ABS Global has partnered with Lamar Steiger, beef supply chain consultant and rancher, to drive uptake on supply chain focused efforts and integration of ongoing genetic innovations.
Texas Tech researchers have received a grant to examine if thermography can help minimize the use of antimicrobials in cattle through targeted metaphylaxis.
Dr. Alison Van Eenennaam, Professor at the University of California, Davis, gave a presentation, “Gene Editing Today and in the Future” during the Beef Improvement Federation Symposium June 24 in Des Moines, Iowa.