Current methods of keeping foreign animal diseases out of the US likely are adequate to keep African Swine Fever at bay, said David Miller, chief economist for Decision Innovation Solutions, which provides economic analysis and business development services to businesses, in an interview. Many hog market analysts and producers fear the introduction of African Swine … Read More
Consumers Still Want Choice Beef
Strong consumer demand for choice beef appears to be a constant in the beef market now, and unless things change abruptly, and soon, wholesale prices for choice and select beef appear likely to remain inordinately wide into the new year. As of last week, the choice/select spread was at $25.00 per cwt. This is $11.39, … Read More
Q3 Farm Lending Growth Slows; Volume Remain High
Growth in farm lending at commercial banks slowed in the third quarter of 2019, yet loan volumes in the farm sector remained elevated, said the Kansas City Federal Reserve Bank in a study. Following nine straight quarters of year-over-year growth and a particularly notable increase a year ago, the volume of total non-real estate farm … Read More
Funds Extend Long Cattle Position
Large commodity investment funds, called managed money, again lengthened their collective net long live cattle futures position in the week ended Tuesday. The data comes from the Commodity Futures Trading Commission’s weekly Commitments of Traders report on Friday and shows that managed money on Tuesday were net long by 28,340 contracts, up 9,770, or 52.6%, … Read More
Fed Assesses US Ag Economy, Finds Conditions Mixed
Last week, the US Federal Reserve Board released its October Beige Book update, a summary of commentary on current economic conditions by Federal Reserve District, that contained some observations about the US agricultural economy. SIXTH DISTRICT – ATLANTA Agricultural conditions remained mixed. Parts of Alabama, Georgia, the Florida panhandle and Tennessee continued to … Read More
Cattle Producers Need To Check Alternative Winter Feeds
With Fall’s arrival, the focus of cattle producers is shifting to winter feed supplies and to alternatives to hay, said the Beef Cattle Research Council of Canada Wednesday. The BCRC is Canada’s national industry-led funding agency for beef, cattle and forage research. Feed prices have dropped significantly from their June highs, but unfavorable weather conditions … Read More
Frozen Meat, Poultry Stocks Down
Total meat and poultry supplies in the nation’s freezers as of Sep. 30 were down from a month earlier and a year earlier, said the USDA’s National Agricultural Statistics Service Tuesday in its monthly Cold Storage report. BEEF STOCKS DIP Total pounds of beef in cold storage at the end of September came … Read More