The US Labor Department’s Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that despite a decline of 0.1% in December on a seasonally adjusted basis, the all-items Consumer Price Index rose 1.9% in 2018. That was a smaller annual gain than the 2.1% increase in 2016 and 2017 but larger than the increases in any of the years … Read More

Eleventh District agricultural bankers responding to a Federal Reserve fourth-quarter survey last month, reported improved conditions across most regions. The Eleventh Federal Reserve District includes Texas, northern Louisiana and southern New Mexico. Crop yields have been good, particularly for corn and cotton, the survey showed.  However, some areas reported problems with the harvest because of … Read More

Ongoing trade issues will have accumulating effects as more time passes, said Derrell Peel, Oklahoma State University Extension livestock marketing specialist in a letter to Extension agents, but it’s impossible to know the full effects. Many agricultural markets have been affected by tariff wars, and the damage will grow and spread unless resolutions are forthcoming … Read More

The USDA forged ahead to expand export opportunities and diversify markets for US farm and food products in 2018, and the efforts paid off with global sales remaining robust despite numerous challenges in the international trade arena, a Foreign Agricultural Service release said. One of the year’s highlights was the successful negotiation of the US-Mexico-Canada … Read More

USDA Agricultural Marketing Service data show that the rib and loin primal cuts of beef provided the most support to the overall cutout in December. The brisket was next, followed by the chuck and the round.  The short plate and flank rounded out the bottom. That was no real surprise to most seasoned cattle or … Read More

USDA Agricultural Marketing Service data show that the rib and loin primal cuts of beef provided the most support to the overall cutout in December. The brisket was next, followed by the chuck and the round.  The short plate and flank rounded out the bottom. That was no real surprise to most seasoned cattle or … Read More

Kansas feedlot sales to packers, called closeouts for the closing of the books on a pen of cattle as they leave the feed yard, turned higher in November, mirroring November 2017’s direction but going against the previous five-year trend. The Kansas State University Extension Service polls a select group of feedlots each month for data … Read More