The current level of heifers on feed does not suggest heifer retention for herd expansion, said Derrel Peel, Oklahoma State University Extension livestock marketing specialist, in a letter to Extension agents called Cow-Calf Corner. From 2014-2016 in the last herd expansion, the average level of heifers on feed was 33.6%, Peel said.  The total on-feed … Read More

Slaughter cow prices are declining as total US cow slaughter continues to advance unseasonably, USDA data show. The USDA’s National Agricultural Statistics Service reports that federally inspected cow slaughter last week totaled 139,554 head, up 4,470, or 3.31%, from 135,084 a week earlier and up 15,454, or 12.5%, from 124,100 a year earlier.  It also … Read More

Total red meat supplies on March 31 in US freezers were up about 1% from the previous month and up about 9% from last year, the USDA said in its monthly Cold Storage report Friday. Total pounds of beef in freezers were up about 1% from the previous month and up about 11% from last … Read More

Tuesday, large commodity index funds, known as managed money, had expanded their collective net long live cattle position from a week earlier as hedgers enlarged their total net short position. The Commodity Futures Trading Commission released the data Friday in its weekly Commitments of Traders report for activity as of the previous Tuesday.   MANAGED … Read More

US economic activity expanded at a moderate pace since mid-February, said the Federal Reserve in its monthly Beige Book, a report on economic activity by district. Several Districts reported moderate employment gains despite hiring and retention challenges, the Beige Book said.  Consumer spending accelerated among retail and non-financial service firms, as COVID-19 cases tapered across … Read More

On March 24, the US and Japan reached an agreement to increase the three-trigger safeguard mechanism required for Japan to implement a higher tariff on US beef, said Brenda Boetel, agricultural economist at the University of Wisconsin-River Falls, in a letter to Extension agents called In The Cattle Markets. The Livestock Marketing Information Center publication … Read More

Canada’s cattle-on-feed numbers continued to hold at higher levels than last year or the 2016-2020 average, according to CanFax data compiled and released by the Livestock Marketing Information Center in Denver. CanFax, a private market advisory firm, surveys its members in Alberta and Saskatchewan monthly, and the data is compiled by the LMIC.  Only the … Read More