The Purdue University/CME Group Ag Economy Barometer dropped seven points in January to a reading of 167, according to a release from Purdue Ag Economist James Mintert. The Ag Economy Barometer is calculated each month from 400 US agricultural producers’ responses to a telephone survey. This month’s survey was conducted from Jan. 18-22.   CURRENT-CONDITIONS … Read More

Large commodity index funds, known as managed money, invested heavily in long live cattle positions during the week ended last Tuesday, Jan. 26, while hedgers took the other side and increased their collective net short position. The information came from the Commodity Futures Trading Commission’s weekly Commitments of Traders report Friday and covers a period … Read More

The US cattle herd on Jan. 1 declined by 198,000 head, or 0.21%, to 93.595 million from a revised 93.793 million a year earlier, the USDA’s National Agricultural Statistics Service said in its semi-annual Cattle (Inventory) report on Friday. That amount of decline is almost insignificant in the total scope of things, even though the … Read More

With the weekly average all-cattle carcass weight hovering around 839 pounds, and fed cattle prices near steady last week at $109 to $111 per cwt, average unhedged feedlot losses were near steady. Sterling Marketing Inc., of Vale, Ore., publishes its Beef and Pork Profit Trackers weekly through Drovers.  The calculated numbers can be thought of … Read More

Given the current demand for beef and the projected production, it might be a good time to invest in some form of cattle and/or beef production business. Things can change the current consumer buying interest for beef, like prices or spendable income or the latest food scare and competition from other proteins, but with projections … Read More

The Livestock Marketing Information Center in Denver predicted Friday in a newsletter to Extension Agents called In The Cattle Markets that national alfalfa price would be above a year ago in 2021. Other hay prices may weaken with normal yields, but the first part of the new marketing year supplies were expected to be tight. … Read More

The USDA’s National Agricultural Statistics Service said Monday in its monthly Cold Storage report that total red meat supplies in freezers on Dec. 31 were up about 1% from its December report but were down about 11% from last year. Total pounds of beef in cold storage were up about 4% from Nov. 30 and … Read More