So, how does one tell when cow/calf operators are beginning to rebuild their herd after five years of decline? A check with some market analysts suggests it’s far easier to see that rebuilding is progressing than to pick a starting point as it’s happening. Many times, there is pent-up desire to rebuild the herd, but … Read More

For the fifth straight week, managed money, a moniker for large commodity investment funds, increased their collective net long position in live cattle futures, according to data released by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission Friday. That same report, the weekly Commitments of Traders Report, with chronicles the activity of various trading groups on the previous … Read More

It looks like herd rebuilding may have begun.  It could be cut off by resurging drought, but for now, rebuilding the US cattle herd looks promising. Total weekly cow slaughter is down, although weekly heifer kills remain elevated from the 2018-2022 average. As of Jan. 1, the USDA reported the US had 87.2 million cattle … Read More

National economic activity continued to expand from early April to mid-May, according to the Federal Reserve Bank’s Beige Book.  However, conditions varied across industries and districts. The Beige Book is a Federal Reserve System publication about current economic conditions across the 12 Federal Reserve districts.  It characterizes regional economic conditions and prospects based on a … Read More

There are numerous unique factors that make the beef cattle industry complex, said Derrell Peel, Oklahoma State University Extension Livestock Marketing Specialist, in a letter called Cow-Calf Corner.   THE TRADE-OFF   Two biological facts are critical: cows have one calf at a time in a rather slow biological process; and two, heifers can be … Read More

5-28-24 – Total red meat supplies in freezers on April 30 were up about 4% from the previous month but down about 9% from last year, the USDA said Friday in its monthly Cold Storage report. Total frozen poultry supplies were up about 3% from the previous month but down about 5% from a year … Read More

Choice beef cutout prices jumped last week in what could be the beginning of an annual price spike, but something isn’t normal. The Livestock Marketing Information Center graphed the weekly USDA-reported boxed beef prices.  The 2018-2022 weekly average choice cutout price graph shows a definite price peak last week at $299.07 per cwt.  This compares … Read More