The latest Cattle on Feed report showed 11.7 million head of cattle in feedlots with capacity of 1,000 or more head. This was a 1.6 percent increase over last year and the largest June 1st total on record going back to at least 1996 when the series began.
Placements were down about 3 percent compared to a year ago. … Continue reading
It was only 2 months ago that I wrote the following headline in this newsletter: Large Estimates Push Corn Prices Lower. Included in that article was the story was that many farmers were planning to swap form soybeans to corn due to soybean price concerns and that the estimate that there should be plenty of corn this year is positive for feedlot demand. … Continue reading
This week’s article was written by Dr. Derrell Peel at Oklahoma State University and is a great addition to the discussion on trade from last week available here.
Cattle and beef markets have decreased from April highs with uncertainty in a variety of factors weighing on markets the past month. The latest threat of additional tariffs on Mexico rattled many markets last week, … Continue reading
The trade war with China is now in its 16th month with little evidence of an end in the near future. It appeared that an agreement was imminent at one point but no deal was struck in that round. Agriculture has faced some of the most significant impacts from retaliatory tariffs placed on U.S. commodities shipped to China. … Continue reading
The big news in beef markets last week was the increased access of U.S. beef in Japan. The agreement allows U.S. beef from all age cattle to enter Japan which removes a previous 30-month age limit. Below is an excerpt from the USDA announcement.
“The U.S. Department of Agriculture estimates that this expanded access could increase U.S. … Continue reading
The latest USDA Cattle on Feed report included the quarterly feedlot inventories for steers and heifers. An estimated 4.5 million head of heifers were on feed on April 1st which is the largest April total on record and the largest total for any quarterly report since January 1, 2001. The number of heifers on feed was up 7.6 percent year-over-year while the number of steers in feedlots was down 1.1 percent compared to the same time last year. … Continue reading
The USDA Prospective Plantings and the Quarterly Grain Stocks reports were released at the end of March and showed an increase in expected corn acres above 2018 levels. Corn planted area is estimated at 92.8 million acres which is four percent or about 3.66 million acres above last year. The 92.8 million number was on the high end of expectations going into the report. … Continue reading
This week’s article is from Dr. Derrell Peel at Oklahoma State University and discusses expected changes in meat production and consumption in the coming years.
Total 2019 meat production in the U.S. is currently projected to reach another record level of 103.3 billion pounds, up 1.3 percent year over year. However, per capita meat consumption may decrease slightly to 217.3 pounds from the 2018 level of 218.6 pounds. … Continue reading
The graph above is from a recent study and publication led by Tori Marshall, a graduate student in the Department of Agricultural Economics at MSU. Her research used data collected from cattle auctions in Mississippi during 2014-2015 to estimate the impact that pregnancy status has on value.
One of the interesting findings of the study is that pregnant cows or heifers sold at a discount, … Continue reading
December trade data was released on a carcass weight basis by USDA Economic Research Service (ERS) on March 7 and it showed the 2018 totals to be a record year for beef exports at nearly 3.2 billion pounds. Beef exports ended the year 10.3% larger than during 2017. You may recall that 2017 was also a great year for beef exports. … Continue reading
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