The Federal Open Market Committee Thursday left its Federal Funds Rate unchanged in the zero to 0.25% range for now, which is a good thing for US consumers – for now. Higher interest rates could stifle consumer spending on which is a mainstay of the US economy as it leads to more jobs and higher … Read More

Many in the futures market talk of rising feeder cattle supplies coming as pastures fade seasonally, and with feedlot losses mounting, it’s little wonder cash feeder cattle prices are running into resistance. Since peaking at $231.30 pct cwt on June 25, the CME Feeder Cattle Index, a combination of prices from auction barns across the … Read More

Cash fed cattle prices were lower last week for the fourth straight week of declines, exacerbating feedlot losses and representing the 12th straight week that fed cattle prices have been below a year ago. Many feedlots are pushing cattle out because packer discounts for YG4 and YG5 carcasses are growing after being very low to … Read More

Beef packer discounts for overly fat cattle, labeled Yield Grade 4 or 5, are increasing, making it less palatable for cattle owners to feed them to gargantuan proportions. Beef packers report the premiums and discounts for their grid-pricing programs to the USDA’s Animal Marketing Service where they are compiled into a weekly summary of the … Read More

The USDA has lowered its forecast for 2015 and 2016 red meat and poultry production as the pace of third-quarter slaughter slows, more than compensating for heavier beef carcass weights. The USDA revealed its predictions Friday in its World Agricultural Supply and Demand Estimates report. Broiler production estimates for this year and next year also … Read More

Led by pork production increases, total weekly US red meat production is above last year but below the average of the previous five years, according to USDA data. Total red meat production last week amounted to 921.8 million pounds, compared with 900.8 million in the same week a year ago and the 2009-2013 average of … Read More

The beef industry needs to identify key areas of consumer demand and address those issues as they expand the herd from an extended decline, said Kansas State University Agricultural Economists Glynn Tonsor and Ted Schroeder in an economic study. Historically tight cattle and beef supplies, along with four years of expanding demand growth have brought … Read More