MARKETING...
What the Choice-Select Spread is Trying to Say
Premium Choice now carries the banner for quality beef.
Cattle are sold by the pound, but the price per pound can make as much difference as total weight when it comes to the bottom line. That's why producers who aim for profit weigh everything that goes into that price.
The Choice-Select spread has been a leading indicator for decades, but a current analysis suggests it can mislead if taken at face value. A lot more commodity Choice came on just as the economy was closing the menu on "middle-meat" steaks cut from that commodity pool, which no longer represents much of an advantage over Select.
Producers today must lift their gaze to the relative values of premium Choice and Prime beef if they want to monitor the market, says Mark McCully, Certified Angus Beef LLC (CAB) assistant vice president for production. Read more.
Tim Petry
In the Cattle Market
Supply and demand support cattle prices.
All market classes of cattle have rebounded nicely over last year's depressed levels. Fed-cattle and cow prices are leading the way at almost 20% above last year followed by feeder cattle and calves showing 10%-15% gains. One or both of two things had to happen for cattle prices to move higher. Demand for beef had to increase and/or beef supplies had to decrease. Both have happened in 2010. Read more.
Quality Cast
Future is bullish for high-quality beef.
Each month, hear from the folks at Certified Angus Beef LLC (CAB) about the latest news from across the spectrum of the company's divisions.
This month, host Laura Nelson visits with Mark McCully, assistant vice president of supply development for CAB. McCully recently authored a white paper analyzing the trends in the Choice-Select spread and the implications those signals have for cattle producers.
Click here to listen as McCully explains the significance of the Choice-Select spread, how it is calculated, current trends and what they mean to cattlemen today.
For the white paper authored by McCully, visit the Education Center at www.cabpartners.com.
Good News Abroad
U.S. beef, pork exports show strength in first quarter.
U.S. beef and pork muscle cut exports performed well in March, concluding the first quarter of 2010 with increasing momentum. A sluggish global market for variety meat held down the overall totals, but muscle cut export value for both products are running ahead of their 2009 pace.
Beef muscle cuts are off to a particularly strong start in 2010, increasing 22% in volume to 156,947 metric tons [346 million pounds (lb.)] for the quarter. The increase in value was even higher, up 24% to $678 million. The combined beef/beef variety meat totals are also impressive, rising 11% in volume (to 225,122 metric tons, or 496.3 million lb.) and 14% in value (to $788.5 million). Total beef exports accounted for 10.6% of overall production in March compared to 9.4% in March 2009. Export value per steer and heifer slaughtered equated to $127.40, compared to $110.67 last year. Read more.
Sara Snider
The Source
Attend to details now to avoid a rush this fall.
Spring is finally here to stay. As your thoughts turn to fieldwork and the flurry of activity that warmer weather brings, don't forget about adding value to your calves. Attention to detail now will save time later. There are several things that will happen in the next few months that are important when enrolling in one of the verification programs offered by the American Angus Association. Here are some things to remember as you turn bulls out to pasture. Read more.
Training In Animal Care
Online animal care training and certification now available for livestock auction market personnel.
Proper livestock handling and animal care is a major industry topic — and now livestock auction market personnel can fine-tune their handling skills, thanks to a new partnership between the Livestock Marketing Association (LMA) and the Beef Cattle Institute (BCI) at Kansas State University (K-State).
LMA and BCI have collaborated to produce the Animal Care Training website www.animalcaretraining.org, offering training video, testing and certification in specific areas of livestock handling. Read more.
Foodservice Shows Dramatic Improvement
Click on graph to see larger version
Beef and pork prices have been trending higher this spring, in part due to a resurgence in foodservice demand. While beef and pork supplies are down significantly compared to 2009 and 2008 levels, we always thought that the demand component also must have improved in order to justify some of the prices currently being paid for product. In some cases, beef and pork prices are hovering near all-time highs, approaching the levels last seen in the summer of 2008.
The supply side is quite transparent and easier to measure. Each day we get extensive reports on the number of animals going to market, and we also have a good handle on the inventories of livestock and poultry that will be processed in the coming weeks and months. The demand side, on the other hand, is more tricky. But even on that front, there are notable signs of improvement. Read more.
AngusSource® Calves in Spotlight
AngusSource® calves to be highlighted at Superior Livestock Auction sale.
If you are planning to sell your Angus-sired calves through Superior Livestock Auction's "Week In The Rockies XXII" sale, you can increase the visibility of your calves and draw attention to the value added through the program by enrolling them in the AngusSource age-, source- and genetic-verification program.
"Week In The Rockies XXII" will be July 5-9 in Steamboat Springs, Colo. The American Angus Association and Superior Livestock have teamed up to add visibility to AngusSource calves in the sale. Read more.
Angus Calendar
To view the Angus Calendar, a complete list of
Angus sales, click here.