Overall, there is a trio of issues currently dividing the industry...More

“Tightness of cattle inventories at all levels is increasing the volatility in cattle and beef prices,” explain Economic Research Service (ERS) analysts in their monthly Livestock, Dairy and Poultry Outlook (LDPO) issued last week....More

Massive winter storm systems and limited cattle movement made it tough to get a firm handle on stocker calf and feeder trends the past few weeks. Based on last week’s more normal trade, though, it looks like buyers picked...More

The December placement numbers released last Friday surprised analysts by being up 16.1% while the average estimate of the analysts was only 13.7%. While last year’s placement totals were extremely low, December placements were up 5.7% compared to the five-year average. In addition, placements were up 10 of 12 months in 2010 compared to 2009....More

Certainly, ethanol is an issue that isn’t universally opposed; after all, lots of cattlemen also grow grain, and the benefit to the grain market for those producers will far override any negatives it creates on the cattle side. Also, if you operate in an area where ethanol byproducts are abundant and cheap, it provides you some competitive advantages over producers not so blessed, and helps negate the impact of higher grain prices....More

Even with some of the heaviest cattle marketing of the year, calf and feeder prices continue a contra-seasonal rally to record-setting levels (see “Tight Supplies Supercharge...More

Arguably, the primary challenge to sustainability within the cow-calf sector, if not sustainability of the sector itself, is simply economic profit...More

“Even though prices (corn) are at the highest level since July 2008, some analysts are projecting even higher prices, with $7 being a favorite target. The obvious question is: Why are higher prices needed?” asks Darrel Good, a University of Illinois ag economist....More

“Folks were expecting to see a drop in average yields from last month’s report because of poor late-season weather conditions across much of the Corn Belt, but nobody was forecasting this big of a drop in the corn crop,” says John Anderson, an American Farm Bureau Federation economist....More

People get sick of hearing this, but don’t buy a bigger truck unless you’re already making money,” says Kevin Dhuyvetter, Kansas State University (KSU) agricultural economist...More