January 6, 2020 | Vol. 12 : No. 12
It’s not news to anyone in cow country. For 2019, cow-calf producer returns over cash costs were down. They may be the worst since 1996, according to Jim Robb, senior economist for the Livestock Marketing Information Center, but Robb sees better days ahead.
Disappointing cattle prices loom like storm clouds. A third of producers are losing money, while others get by with modest returns and worry about those thunderheads.
CattleFax Analyst Duane Lenz told the 2019 Angus Convention crowd there could be another year or two under the cloud. Then he’s optimistic, bullish even, for future beef prices. Consumer beef demand for high-quality beef is stronger than it’s ever been.
Most Americans engaging online about climate change are mired in the debate as to whether it exists. However, the focus of the conversation will shift dramatically in the next two years, according to new research from The Center for Food Integrity. In addition, there is no evidence consumers associate or link the consumption of animal protein to climate change.
The U.S. rural economy will continue to face headwinds in 2020 and is expected to underperform relative to the economy of urban America. Since 2014, GDP growth in rural counties has averaged almost 1% less than in urban counties. That trend is likely to continue without a significant upswing in agricultural commodity prices, energy exploration, rural manufacturing and other industries upon which rural economic growth depend.
At a recent producer meeting, people were talking about mandatory livestock price reporting in the broader context of fed-cattle marketing. South Dakota has enough fed cattle to be reported in cattle-on-feed statistics. The large feedyards (1,000+ head) in the state typically have a strong seasonal pattern in placements, peaking in October, with limited variability in marketings.
Marketing your Angus-sired feeder calves to their fullest potential isn’t easy. Market changes can be hard to predict. Value-added programs can help ease that volatility. Buyers, feedyards and packers know the Angus name, and the value Angus calves bring to the table is unrivaled. In 2020, the American Angus Association will be streamlining commercial programs for improved efficiency and clarity. The result? AngusLinkSM is the merging of the long-established AngusSource® Process Verified Programs and the AngusLink feeder-cattle program launched last year.
About 85% of U.S. beef today comes from Beef Quality Assurance (BQA)-certified farmers or ranchers. Do American consumers know that? Just as importantly, do they know what BQA is and what it stands for?
Those are the kinds of questions a new Beef Checkoff-funded campaign from the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association, a Beef Checkoff contractor, is addressing. Its goal is to bridge the gap between what the industry is doing to produce high-quality beef in a humane, environmentally friendly way, and what consumers know about those efforts.
