As US President Donald Trump makes trade and the US economy focus points for his administration, economists are unsure how the mix of tax cuts and higher tariffs will play out in the long run. Two university economists, Carl Zulauf, Department of Agricultural, Environmental and Development Economics at Ohio State University and David Orden, Department … Read More

As the clock ticks down to a UK exit of the EU, there is unfinished business with beef trade partners, leaving many questions unanswered. Reading various news stories about the Brexit, as it is called, it is clear that someone will get the short end of the stick, no matter how well it is negotiated.  … Read More

Wholesale ham prices have fallen victim to the feud among Congress and US President Donald Trump as Congress has yet to ratify the US-Mexico-Canada trade agreement, the Livestock Marketing Information Center said in a letter to Extension Service staff.  Larger supplies also are pressuring prices. Wholesale ham prices started the year at $0.45 per pound, … Read More

Despite mounting farm-sector pressure and limited profit opportunities, farmland value has continued to provide ongoing support and remains a key area to watch in coming months if leverage continues to increase, said the Omaha, Neb., branch of the Kansas City Federal Reserve Bank last week. Fourth-quarter 2018 farm lending continued to grow alongside a similar … Read More

Canadian feed yards started the new year with more cattle on hand than last year and the 2013-2017 average, yet placements of younger calves into these feedlots in December was very near average and last year. The data does not come from Stats Canada but from the private cattle analysis company CanFax and includes feedlots … Read More

Weekly average cash prices for slaughter steers in the Southern Plains are starting the year very near 2018 levels and on much the same trend. Data from the USDA’s Agricultural Marketing Service compiled by Denver’s Livestock Marketing Information Service showed the average price for slaughter-ready cattle in the Southern Plains last week came to $123.85 … Read More

It doesn’t happen very often, but estimated cattle feeding margins last week were above those of beef packers. The revelation came in the Sterling Marketing Inc., Beef Profit Tracker, published by Drovers. For the week ended Jan. 11, estimated unhedged cattle feeding margins came to $104.16 a head, compared with estimated beef packer margins at … Read More