US May 1 hay stocks, reported by the USDA-National Agricultural Statistics Service in the May Crop Production report, were the largest since 2005 at 25.14 million short tons, greatly reducing the cattle-industry stress about forage availability.  Year-over-year, May hay stocks were up 2.5%, nationally. That was the second year in a row that stocks returned … Read More

Cash cattle markets could be in store for some short-term price support. It appears Kansas feed yards are getting caught up on their marketings, and by extension it’s reasonable to think other Plains States feedlots are reaching the same level of currentness.  If slaughter-ready supplies are tightening, prices could have a temporary floor built under … Read More

Last week’s feedlot margins were in the black for the second straight week after more than a year of losses, according to the Sterling Beef Profit Tracker, but a trend toward declining fed cattle prices may hinder positive margins in coming months. The weekly profit tracker, published by AgWeb, shows feedlots making $150.70 a head … Read More

The Memorial Day holiday is one of the more important weekends for retail grocery meat counters.  As the unofficial start to summer and the more extended use of back yard grills, meat sales can jump, extending cash flow and profit margins. The success of the grilling holiday and beef demand will be assessed over the … Read More

Live cattle futures are telling feedlots that the market wants their finished cattle sooner rather than later, but they aren’t responding with aggressive sales. The latest USDA/National Agricultural Statistics Cattle-On-Feed report showed that daily average fed cattle marketings were up in April at a pace that goes against a seasonal flat spot.  Feeders are getting … Read More

US beef consumers have reason to cheer this summer with the lowest ground beef prices in years. That, along with declining slaughter weights and lower per-animal beef production, could spark buying interest and turn markets higher later in the year.  But for now, it looks like consumers can expect low burger prices for the grill … Read More

The outlook for US exports is getting darker by the day as the US dollar appreciates in comparison with other currencies. Simply put, gains in the US dollar’s value make US goods and services more expensive since it takes more kropnicks, (or whatever) to buy the dollars it takes to buy US products.  This is … Read More