In the fourth quarter of 2020 (when beef prices were strengthening) nearly 25% of US adults said they were worse off financially than a year earlier, reflecting the economic fallout and distress from the global COVID-19 pandemic, the Federal Reserve Bank said in a release. The report found a larger share of adults were worse … Read More

Drought conditions remain historically bad for this time of year, and USDA data confirms that the situation is critical for the beef cattle industry, said Oklahoma State University Extension Livestock Marketing Specialist in a letter to Extension agents called Cow/Calf Corner. USDA-reported pasture and range conditions from May through October and the initial reports this … Read More

Some said it couldn’t be done — five major US cattlemen’s association officials meeting together, in one place, to talk about ways to improve cattle price discovery – but it did. But will anything change?  Will it get any easier to figure out just what cattle are worth?  Will fewer fed cattle be sold to … Read More

The USDA’s National Agricultural Statistics Service said in its weekly Crop Progress Report Monday that US corn planting was 80% complete, well ahead of the 2016-2020 average of 68%. A market analyst credited excellent planting weather for the advanced pace of corn planting and for the faster-than-normal rate of emergence, which was reported at 41% … Read More

Large commodity investment funds, known as managed money, reversed course during the week ended Tuesday and took on a larger net long live cattle futures position. At the same time, hedgers, those who own, or will own, the cattle at some point, known as commercial traders, took reversed their trend toward smaller net short live … Read More

Agricultural credit conditions in the Kansas City Federal Reserve Bank’s Tenth District continued to strengthen in the first quarter of 2021, the bank said in a release showing the results of its quarterly credit survey. After a sharp rebound at the end of 2020, conditions in the broad agricultural economy continued to improve alongside additional … Read More

Total US red meat and poultry production for 2022 was forecast to be more than 2021 as higher pork and poultry production estimates more than offset lower beef production forecasts, said the USDA in its monthly World Agricultural Supply and Demand Estimates report Wednesday. Beef production was forecast lower on smaller year-over-year slaughter levels.  Pork … Read More