The USDA’s monthly Cold Storage report Thursday revealed that total red meat supplies in freezers on May 31 were down slightly from the May report and down about 1% from last year. Total frozen poultry supplies on May 31 were up about 4% from the previous month and up about 2% from a year ago. … Read More

Currently, corn, soybeans and wheat futures are off substantially from their May highs, presenting cattle feeders with improved feeding margins, said Stephen Koontz, agricultural economist at Colorado State University, in a Livestock Marketing Information Center letter called In The Cattle Markets. Those changes all occurred well ahead of the USDA Acreage report due out at … Read More

For many months, cattle producers and markets have operated under the threat of New World Screwworm coming to the US.  Now that it’s here, the industry can get on with the reality of dealing with it. In an Oklahoma State University letter called Cow-Calf Corner, Extension Livestock Marketing Specialist Derrell Peel went on to say … Read More

In the last five weeks the difference between USDA-listed average weekly prices of choice and select beef, called the choice/select spread, widened sharply. In the first weeks of April and May, the choice/select spread were inverted, meaning the lower-eating-quality select beef was higher in price than the better-eating choice beef.  But, in the last five … Read More

Beef production has an important seasonal nature that cattle production systems, feeding and finished weights have not eliminated, said Texas A&M Agricultural Economist David Anderson said in a Livestock Marketing Information Center letter called In The Cattle Markets. That seasonality contributes to the supply side of seasonal beef prices, Anderson said.  And, it looks like … Read More

US pork exports maintained strong momentum in April, led by broad-based growth in Asian and Western Hemisphere markets, according to data released by the USDA and compiled by the US Meat Export Federation. In a release the USMEF said beef exports trended lower in April because of the impasse with China over approving US packing … Read More

The US cattle industry has been characterized by cycles of inventory and prices since the modern ranching industry developed in the late 1800s. Oklahoma State University Extension Livestock Marketing Specialist Derrell Peel said in a letter that there have been twelve cyclical inventory peaks in the last 129 years, with the first in 1890 and … Read More