The weekly drought monitor map shows large portions of the western half of the contiguous 48 states to be experiencing exceptional drought conditions currently, calling into question cropping and livestock-producing capabilities this year. The US Drought Monitor is produced through a partnership between the National Drought Mitigation Center at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, the US … Read More

The link between US consumer spending and oil prices isn’t concrete, tending to evolve over the last 20 years, according to a study done and published by the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City. There are two main channels through which oil price changes affect consumer spending, the bank said.  The overall effect of these … Read More

The number of cattle on feed in Alberta and Saskatchewan on April 1 continued a nearly level monthly 2021 total, according to data from CanFax a private market advisory firm. CanFax surveys member feedlots in the two provinces and shares some of its data with the Livestock Marketing Information Center in Denver who processes it … Read More

Large commodity investment funds, called managed money, pruned their collective net long live cattle position in the week ended Tuesday as hedgers also trimmed their total net short position. The data came from the Commodity Futures Trading Commission’s weekly Commitments of Traders Report Friday, which summarizes the changes to the weekly trading positions of trader … Read More

Farm loan demand remained muted at commercial banks in the first quarter of 2021, said the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City in a release citing the result of a quarterly survey. A reduction in the volume of operating loans led to an overall decline in total non-real estate lending, the bank said.  Financing activity … Read More

February Kansas feedlot closeouts followed the 2015-2019 average decline from January closely, undercutting the year-earlier rate, according to data collected by the Kansas State University Extension Service and compiled by the Livestock Marketing Information Center in Denver. The K-State Extension Service collects the data from select, representative feedlots across the state each month, and the … Read More

February exports of US beef and pork remained below the rapid pace established in early 2020, according to data released by USDA and compiled by the US Meat Export Federation. However, exports were consistent with the USMEF’s February projections and the federation still expects 2021 beef exports to increase substantially year over year, the USMEF … Read More