While COVID-19 commands the news space, and cattle back up all the way to the cow/calf producer, Agricultural Economist Elliot Dennis urged producers to figure if the cost of adding weight to feeder cattle was worth it. In a letter to Extension agents from the Livestock Marketing Information Center called In The Cattle Markets, Elliot … Read More
Traffic Backup In Cattle, Meat Industries
Like a huge backup from a wreck on the interstate that takes hours to clear up and more hours to return to a normal traffic flow, the US cattle and meat industries are backing up, and it may take years to clear. And even though President Trump ordered meat packing plants to reopen, designating them … Read More
Be Careful What You Wish For: Economist
In the wake of COVID-19’s devastation to the cattle industry, some are calling for greater market oversight, but a well-known agricultural economist says to be careful what you wish for. Derrell Peel, Oklahoma State University agricultural economist, said in a letter to Extension Agents called Cow/Calf Corner that COVID-19 had resulted in price changes and … Read More
Canada’s Cattle On Feed Begin Seasonal Decline Early
It looks like Canada’s feedlots are beginning their seasonal decline in cattle populations a month early, forgoing a seasonal bump in April 1 inventories. The report of the number of cattle on feed in Canada is put out by the private market advisory firm CanFax, and the data for the total number on feed along … Read More
Funds Buy Cattle, Remain Barely Net Long
Large commodity investment firms, called managed money, added to their collective net long position in the week ended Tuesday but still keeping barely above a net short position, according to the weekly Commitments of Traders report Friday from the Commodity Futures Trading Commission. Managed money’s net long position Tuesday was only 1,806 contracts, up 1,723, … Read More
Cattle Prices Down As Packing Plants Idle Capacity
Lower fed cattle prices resulted from packing plant closures as employees there increasingly succumbed to the Covid-19 virus, but how long it will last is the $64,000 question. Stephen Koontz, agricultural economist at Colorado State University, tackled this in the Livestock Marketing Information Center’s letter to Extension agents called In The Cattle Markets. This is … Read More
Frozen Red Meat Supplies Down On Lower Pork Stocks
Total US frozen red meat supplies on March 31 were down about 2% from the previous month but up about 7% from last year, but all of the decline was in pork supplies, according to Wednesday’s monthly Cold Storage report from the USDA’s National Agricultural Statistics Service. Total pounds of beef in US freezers were … Read More