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  • ag lending advice for beef producers
    Mar. 7, 2013
    Article

    It’s Time To Buddy Up With Your Ag Lender

    If there are two words to describe the current environment that cattlemen find themselves in, they are volatility and uncertainty. Much of that is driven by historically low interest rates and high input prices. Navigating such an environment will mean you will need to work more closely with your ag lender than ever before....More
  • beef cattle price outlook
    Mar. 7, 2013
    Article

    Outlook: Beef Demand Really, Really Matters!

    The cattle market appears poised to make another run at breaking through overhead resistance at $130+ in the coming months. Once again, the beef complex demonstrates an incredible ability to be resilient and robust even under serious concerns....More
  • beef cattle feed prices, corn vs. hay
    Mar. 7, 2013
    Article

    Industry At A Glance: TDN Cost Of Hay Vs. Corn

    Looking at beef cattle feed prices in late 2013, the market is pricing in a significant break for corn prices. Meanwhile, there’s no way to forecast hay costs through futures markets; hence, the most reliable estimate is based on historical relationships....More
  • Mar. 3, 2013
    Article

    Ranchers Develop Planning Methodology To Best Respond To Drought

    Like a general mapping out his strategy before going into battle, a rancher must be prepared to respond effectively to drought, one of the biggest threats to Great Plains ranchers. With the input of ranchers and advisers, a drought-planning methodology has been created to encourage more ranchers to develop advance plans....More
  • higher fed cattle prices, markets
    Mar. 2, 2013
    Article

    Higher Fed Cattle Prices Boost Late-Week Auction Trade 1

    Winter storms closed some auction markets and kept buyers out of the market last week. By the end of the week, though, expected declines in fed cattle tonnage due to the storms added some some support to the markets....More
  • Feb. 28, 2013
    blog

    Don’t Forget The Cattle Market’s Undercurrent 2

    The effects of the drought and high input prices have ratcheted up the competition. Poorer cows and poorer producers are being eliminated, which is increasing the average line. What was above average just 3-5 years ago is average today, and will be below average 3-5 years from now....More
  • winter on the ranch
    Feb. 28, 2013
    blog

    Red Meat Is Nature’s Multi-Vitamin, Says Study 8

    Have you ever heard the phrase, “overfed but undernourished?” This aptly describes the two-thirds of Americans who are considered overweight or obese. As a society, we are eating plenty, but are we getting the nutrients we need to thrive? And, if not, how does this impact our daily performance, longevity and future generations?...More
  • Feb. 27, 2013
    Article

    Senators Ask Vilsack To Preserve Food Safety Inspections 2

    U.S. Sen. Pat Roberts (R-KS), a senior member of the Senate Committee on Agriculture, says that under law, USDA is obligated to perform meat and poultry inspections for the safety of consumers. This is despite threats by the Obama administration to furlough Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) employees due to forced spending cuts set to take effect March 1, 2013....More
  • Feb. 27, 2013
    Article

    BQA & Animal Welfare: A Good Fit For Veterinarians

    BQA involves training for best management practices for antibiotic residue avoidance, food safety and animal welfare. The most recent expansion of the industry’s quality assurance program, developed through the Beef Checkoff, is the creation of cow-calf, stocker and feedlot self-assessment tools which are carried out at the grass-roots level....More
  • Beef cattle feed alternatives
    Feb. 27, 2013
    blog

    Exploring New And Novel Cattle Feed Alternatives 11

    Despite the fact that more than 70% of the U.S. was impacted by a drought in 2012, the U.S. harvested 11.8 billion bu. of corn last year. One would think that a smaller U.S. cowherd combined with a corn surplus would translate into cheaper cattle feed prices, but competition from ethanol and the food industry means producers can expect continued high feed prices....More
  • Feb. 26, 2013
    Article

    EPA Chief Sends Regrets, Yet Releases Sensitive Farm Data Anyway 1

    Last week, outgoing U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Chief Lisa Jackson was quoted in the Huffington Post as saying her biggest regret was related to her relationship with rural America....More
  • Feb. 26, 2013
    Article

    Industry At A Glance: Beef In Cold Storage 1

    If Food Safety Inspection Service inspectors are put on furlough as part of the March 1 sequester, USDA’s Feb. 22 Cold Storage report indicates the complex has approximately one week’s worth of beef and beef products to meet typical business requirements....More
  • CME report beef packers
    Feb. 26, 2013
    Article

    Packer Margins Continue To Languish

    A critical leverage point in livestock and meat markets is packer margin.While producers determine long-run product supplies and the timing of those supplies with their decisions to breed animals....More
  • Feb. 26, 2013
    blog

    Are You Worried About Your Hay Supply? 1

    Whether it’s snagging a new pair of jeans climbing over the barbed-wire fence, discovering a leak in your rubber boots during the spring thaw, or realizing the cattle are out because you left the gate open, we all experience regular frustrations in our lives. Letting off some steam and forgetting about our troubles is something we all need on occasion....More
  • Feb. 25, 2013
    Article

    Beef Producer Says Linebreeding Gives Him Consistency

    Mark Hannan figured out a long time ago that closely bred cattle give more consistent performance. He learned that from the extensive use of Jersey dairy cattle in his East Texas dairy....More
  • the grazing manager
    Feb. 25, 2013
    Article

    Computer-Based Program Helps Grazing Management 1

    The Grazing Manager (TGM) is a computer-based, decision-support tool that budgets forage demand against forage supply using DD as the measure....More
  • vest ranch
    Feb. 25, 2013
    Article

    Commercial Cattleman Builds Back His Herd Using DNA Marker Technology 4

    Keeping the right females is something every rancher struggles with, even when it does rain, says Ty Watkins. “However, in a drought year where you’re forced to make decisions within your cowherd that you wouldn’t otherwise make, you really want to be sure you’re keeping the most efficient, most productive cows possible.”...More
  • ranch managment costs
    Feb. 25, 2013
    blog

    Seven Keys To Ranch Profitability 1

    The prices of fuel and equipment have risen significantly faster over time than the market value of cattle. Therefore, I prefer a production system highly dependent on soil, sunlight, rainfall, and our ingenuity and inventiveness, than one highly dependent on fossil fuels and equipment....More
  • drought strategy cost harlan hughes
    Feb. 25, 2013
    blog

    Strategies To Build Back The Beef Herd After Drought

    A conventional drought repopulation strategy is to buy back as many bred heifers after the drought as cows were sold during the drought. The example rancher in my previous three columns sold 50 bred cows from his original 250-head cowherd in 2012; therefore, he wanted to evaluate buying back 50 bred heifers in spring 2013....More
  • farm management costs
    Feb. 25, 2013
    blog

    What Will It Take To Rebuild The U.S. Beef Cowherd?

    My friend Howard was among the industry’s top 20 largest cow-calf operators in the late 1980s, but drought and other factors have whittled down his cow numbers over the last 25 years. His operation has been fortunate to escape the ravages of the drought of the last three years, but Howard has had no desire to expand his cowherd. Why?...More
  • Feb. 25, 2013
    blog

    Some Suggest FSIS Furlough Would Solve America’s Health Problems 13

    USDA Secretary Tom Vilsack’s Feb. 8 announcement that USDA is considering a 15-day furlough of Food Safety Inspection Service (FSIS) personnel to reduce costs is troublesome, to say the least. Last week, Editor Joe Roybal asked the question, “Will FSIS furlough hold the food system hostage?” While some are saying it will be a non-issue, even if the furlough does occur, others see it as a political move using ranchers as pawns in a game we will struggle to win....More
  • Feb. 24, 2013
    Article

    Cattle Futures Rise as Snowstorm May Curb Animal Weights 1

    Cattle rose for the first time last week on speculation that a winter storm sweeping across the U.S. may reduce animal weights, while beef exports jumped. Hogs fell, capping the longest decline since October 2008....More
  • markets cattle prices
    Feb. 22, 2013
    Article

    Demand Whacks Cattle Prices

    Boxed-beef cutout value traded either side of even and about $20/cwt. shy of getting close to packer and feedlot profitability by many estimates....More
  • Feb. 22, 2013
    video

    BEEF Meat Market Update | Boxed Beef Trade

    Cattlemen routinely hear about the boxed beef trade, but what does it mean? And why do we care? Once cattle are harvested at the packing plant, they're sold into the retail and food service channels and the beef is consumed. Yes, but sometimes it doesn't work quite that simply. Ed Czerwien, with USDA Market News in Amarillo, TX, explains some of the recent activity in the boxed beef trade....More
  • culling cows
    Feb. 21, 2013
    blog

    Some Thoughts On Drought & Culling 1

    We all know we’re looking at record cattle prices and high input prices for the relative short term. We’re just trying to make those strong fundamentals come in line with the cards that Mother Nature elects to deal us in the coming months....More
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