Federally inspected beef cow and heifer slaughter rates in November continue to show that the US beef cattle herd growth has slowed considerably from last year. Data show that the herd likely continued to grow in 2017, but monthly slaughter data all year shows that more females are being slaughtered than in the same months … Read More

Scientific research has shown that it’s still good advice to keep cows in good body condition for better breeding, calving and mothering results. It seems logical to assume all that, but with changes in things like breed preferences, selection methods, feed availability and prices, researchers at Oregon State University, the University of Nebraska and the … Read More

Scientific research has shown that it’s still good advice to keep cows in good body condition for better breeding, calving and mothering results. It seems logical to assume all that, but with changes in things like breed preferences, selection methods, feed availability and prices, researchers at Oregon State University, the University of Nebraska and the … Read More

The inventory of all US hogs and pigs on Dec. 1 was 73.230 million head, down 69,000, or 0.09%, from 73.299 on Sep. 1 but up 1.685 million, or 2.36%, from 71.545 million a year earlier. The USDA’s National Agricultural Statistics Service released the data in its quarterly hogs and pigs report on Friday. It … Read More

Total red meat supplies at the end of November in US freezers were down 112.685 million pounds, or 9.80%, to 1.037 billion from 1.149 billion a month earlier. Stocks also were down 42.549 million pounds, or 3.94%, from 1.079 billion a year earlier. The news came Friday in the monthly USDA-National Agricultural Statistics Service’s Cold … Read More

The fed cattle market found itself trading mostly softer to sideways during November, said Nevil Speer, vice president of operations for AgriClear Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of TMX Group Limited, in an article for Beef Magazine. Fed cattle finished October at $123 to 124 per cwt.  The market then stepped back toward $119 as … Read More

Monthly beef packer breakeven fed steer costs were expected to bounce around for the next few months with support seen at $122.40 per cwt on a live basis and resistance at $130.51.  This week’s cash price is settling out around $120. The estimated breakeven price for packer steer purchases was calculated by the Livestock Marketing … Read More