Fourth-quarter cattle slaughter and beef production were projected to decrease year over year, but higher-than-expected beef production in the first three quarters of the year likely mean annual beef production will be steady or fractionally higher, said Derrell Peel, Oklahoma State University Extension Livestock Marketing Specialist, in a letter to Extension agents called Cow-Calf Corner. … Read More

The USDA’s Foreign Agriculture Service reported this month that poultry production in China next year was expected to remain stable at 14.3 million tonnes. Chicken consumption in China has increased since the 2020 outbreak of African Swine Fever in its hog population that necessitated the culling of millions of hogs to control the disease.  China … Read More

Kansas feedlot sales to beef packers, or closeouts, averaged 4,113 head in July, falling below last year and the 2016-2020 average, according to a survey by the Kansas State University Extension service. The monthly survey collects data from select feedlots and sends the results to the Livestock Marketing Information Center in Denver for compilation and … Read More

Large commodity index funds, better known as managed money, lifted their collective net long live cattle futures position in the week ended Tuesday as hedgers nudged their total net short position, according to the weekly Commitments of Traders report from the Commodity Futures Trading Commission Friday.   MANAGED MONEY BUYS CATTLE   Managed money’s collective … Read More

Total red meat supplies in US freezers on Aug. 31 were up about 1% from the previous month and up about 20% from last year, while total frozen poultry supplies were up about 2% from the previous month and up about 11% from a year ago, according to the USDA’s National Agricultural Statistics Service’s monthly … Read More

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