Winter wheat grazing prospects in the Plains this fall look profitable if possible, said Oklahoma State University Livestock Marketing Specialist Derrell Peel, in a letter to Extension agents called Cow-Calf Corner. Soils in the Plains are very dry, reducing grazing prospects in dryland wheat, but current cash and futures prices offer a profitable venture, if … Read More

A farmer survey by University of Missouri agriculture professors that was sponsored by CoBank, a national cooperative bank, found that off-farm jobs and income were critical to farmers and ranchers. The authors found a growing rural and urban connection in the necessity of outside income for farmers and ranchers, calling it “under appreciated.”  And the … Read More

The number of cattle in Canada’s feedlots on Sep. 1 totaled 811,771 head down from August but following the 2016-2020 average trend closely but at a higher level, according to CanFax, a private market advisory group in Canada. CanFax collects the data from feedlots in Alberta and Saskatchewan and sends the total results to its … Read More

Managed money, a proxy for large commodity investment funds, increased their collective net long live cattle futures position in the week ended Tuesday to a level not seen for months. The Commodity Futures Trading Commission, in its weekly Commitments of Traders report Friday for data as of Tuesday, also said commercial traders, those who own, … Read More

The monthly spread between the wholesale and retail prices of beef is wider than either last year or the preceding five-year average, according to the USDA’s Agricultural Marketing Service and the Economic Research Service. The USDA data is collected, formulated and released by the Livestock Marketing Information Center in Denver.  A graph of the monthly … Read More

Although cattle imports and export totals sound large in absolute numbers, the role of imported cattle is rather modest in domestic markets, said Derrell Peel, Oklahoma State University livestock marketing specialist in a letter to Extension Agents called Cow-Calf Corner. Imports of slaughter cows/bulls for the first seven months of 2022 accounted for 2.8% of … Read More

The USDA’s Foreign Agricultural Service reported in an annual report that China’s 2023 imports of breeding swine and pork were expected to decline to 5,000 head and 1.85 million tonnes, respectively.  Lower domestic hog and pork price were cited for the forecast decline in imports. Consumer price sensitivity and competition among producers were expected to … Read More