beef cattle Archives - Page 4 of 38

Flu outbreak sees buyers balk at beef futures

Cash prices fairly level; beef producers should look into risk management tools, analysts say

By Jeff Melchior, GFM Network News April 10, 2024

Markets have seen cattle futures (mainly live and fed) decline in recent weeks as the highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) strain made its way into dairy herds in six states to date. The good news, said a cattle auction leader and market expert, is that cash prices have remained more-or-less steady amid the chaos.

Nearly half of a beef carcass is consumed by consumers with average to above-average incomes.

Cattleman’s Corner, Columns, Markets

How consumer spending drives fed cattle prices

Here's why a small change in spending affects the beef market

By Jerry Klassen April 4, 2024

Cattle producers are bombarded with charts and data from cattle inventory reports and cattle on feed surveys. During the fall of 2023, live cattle futures and were trending lower. Every analyst I was reading was focused on how low supplies were from a historical perspective; however, fed cattle prices were on a downward spiral. It’s […] Read more

Kit Pharo says ranchers can increase their production per acre and their profitability.

Beef Cattle, Cattleman’s Corner

A key to cattle business survival

Produce more pounds of beef per acre versus more pounds per cow, this U.S. rancher says

By Heather Smith Thomas March 29, 2024

North America producers are receiving higher prices for cattle than ever before — “yet very few are really profitable,” Kit Pharo says. Most cow-calf producers “are too dependent on outside inputs, which are also at record-high costs,” says Pharo, who operates Pharo Cattle Company in Colorado and was the keynote speaker at the recent Holistic […] Read more

Markets, Reuters

JBS says US beef division facing challenges, Seara unit improving

Low cattle supply behind weakness in US division; headwinds expected to continue

By Reuters, GFM Network News March 27, 2024

Brazilian meat-packer JBS expects margins of its Seara processed foods maker in Brazil to reach double digits in the first weeks of 2024, citing operational improvements designed to shore up the unit, executives said today.

Cattle producers need to be aware, as we head toward 2025, that a small change in supply has a large influence on price.

Cattleman’s Corner, Columns, Markets

Cattle herd declines while economy expands

One per cent increase in consumer spending means one per cent increase in beef demand

By Jerry Klassen March 21, 2024

I often place myself two years in the future, with a view of the past two years. The old saying is that hindsight is 20/20. Well then, place yourself in the future and look backward. If I were giving a cattle market outlook in March 2026, the summary would be the following: During 2024, feeder […] Read more

The level of worm concentration on a pasture is usually in line with the level of cow and calf grazing activity.

Cattleman’s Corner

Solid deworming programs essential for grazing cows

Understanding the lifecycle of the major worms found in pastures helps with treatment timing

By Peter Vitti March 10, 2024

Whenever I heard of a beef cow herd infected with brown stomach roundworms (Ostertagi ostertagi), I used to envision a cow’s abomasum filled with large and living ropes. Then, I looked at some pictures in a cattle parasite book and to my surprise, this common gastrointestinal worm is no more than a quarter- to half-inch […] Read more

The U.S. calf crop for 2023 came in at 33.593 million head, down 846,500 from the 2022 calf crop of 34.44 million.

Beef Cattle, Cattleman’s Corner, Columns, Markets

Lower U.S. calf crop supports cattle complex

Conditions are developing that should support record calf prices next fall

By Jerry Klassen March 6, 2024

The Alberta fed cattle market remains under pressure due to a buildup of market-ready cattle, larger carcass weights and seasonally low demand. During the last week of January, Alberta packers were buying fed cattle on a dressed basis in the range of $360-$365 per hundredweight delivered. Live bids f.o.b. feedlot in southern Alberta were quoted […] Read more

Beef cows’ TDN energy maintenance requirements generally increase about two per cent for every degree Celsius drop in temperature below freezing.

Beef Cattle, Cattleman’s Corner, Columns

Beef cows in good condition, feed accordingly

Optimize cows' condition with target diets based on the animals' BCS

By Peter Vitti February 29, 2024

A warm start to winter has caused many beef cows after weaning to come off pasture in decent shape. Some of these cows are not truly obese, but they retained a lot of flesh. Those beef cows in optimum body condition should be put on a nutritious feeding program that maintains them until they calve […] Read more

It makes sense to place positivity and profit above production values on ranches.

Beef Cattle, Cattleman’s Corner

Rethinking ranch priorities

Positivity and profit can be more important priorities than production

By Sean McGrath February 23, 2024

The beginning of a New Year marks a good time to work on planning for the year ahead. I believe we should be planning for “Profitivity” on our farms and ranches. Profitivity is a combination of profitability, productivity and positivity. For an operation to thrive, these three things are important to get right. Profit and […] Read more

General, Livestock

Canadian cattle herd reaches lowest level since 1989

Cattle weights supporting decline in production

By Geralyn Wichers, GFM Network News February 23, 2024

On January 1, Canadian farmers held 11.1 million cattle and calves on farms, down 2.1 per cent from a year prior, StatCan said in livestock estimates released today. It's the smallest cattle herd since January 1, 1989.

GFM Network News

CFIA looks for feedback on proposed seed potato rule changes

U.S. grains: Soybean futures rise on active Chinese buying

GMO food labelling review opens questions on gene editing

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