A change in weather patterns over the last five years has given several middle eastern US states better corn yield performance than even most Corn Belt states, said an Illinois Economist. However, those conditions could just as easily swing back to “normal” in coming years, leading to lower yields, lower incomes and more financial stress … Read More

Feedlot and packer margins during the week ended Dec, 21 held nearly steady with the previous week, according to Sterling Marketing’s Beef Profit Tracker, published by AgWeb. For the week, the margins for unhedged feedlots that week was a plus $30.89 a head, down $0.65, or 2.06%, from $31.54 the previous week and down $7.25, … Read More

The new challenge for cattle producers is to keep 2018 going. US cattle producers have said for years they will produce the kind of cattle with the carcass traits they are paid for.  In 2018 they did just that, increasing the percentage of choice carcasses versus select and keeping product demand strong as packers came … Read More

The difference between choice and select beef prices likely will continue to narrow into mid- to late February, extending a seasonal move that began the last week of November. That conclusion was drawn from USDA Agricultural Marketing Service data compiled by the Livestock Marketing Information Center.   CONSUMER PREFERENCE CHANGES   Previous observation and meat … Read More

Livestock markets face large supplies with strong demand moving into 2019, and 2019 livestock prices look to be similar to this year, according to presenters at the Illinois Farm Economics Summit this month.   2019 BEEF PRODUCTION SEEN UP   US beef production was expected to increase 3.3% in 2019, rising to 27.8 billion pounds, … Read More

Oklahoma State University Extension Animal Scientist Emeritus last week spelled out for Extension agents the cold-weather requirements for cow/calf producers in Oklahoma, but the article also has relevance for producers in other states. Each winter cattle market participants wonder how cold is cold to cattle.  For cattle ranchers, there is an easy-to-use formula for keeping … Read More

The US hog herd continues to grow, a fact that concerns cattle producers and feeders as the extra meat must find a home, potentially undermining beef values. The USDA’s National Agricultural Statistics Service last week released its Quarterly Hogs and Pigs report, which revealed that the US inventory of all hogs and pigs on Dec. … Read More