Looking at recent trends helps predict fed-cattle markets.
The feedlot industry displays amazing dynamics over the course of a typical year … and, of course, 2020 has been anything but a typical year. The Nov. 1 cattle-on-feed inventory was 11.97 million head of cattle, up 1.3% from one year ago. Exactly what to expect in fed-cattle markets in the coming months depends on numerous factors, including the demographics of the feedlot population (both size and gender), feed costs, the time of the year, weather conditions and regional effects.
Market Closeout
The priceless ingredient.
Commentary by Troy Marshall, American Angus Association
Ranching is one of the most challenging of all professions. There is no other profession that requires one to deal with so many outside risks — from the markets to the weather. Neither is there one that requires more total commitment to merely survive, let alone thrive. Nor is there another that allows one to feed the world and do so while leaving one’s environment and community a better place. Ranching forces one to work daily with all of Mother Nature, bringing us closer to our Maker.
Leadership Amid Change
Knowing supply chain helps resiliency in a year like this.
Years like 2020 have a way of making us appreciate good leadership. The supply chain may be fragile, but it’s resilient. That’s according to John Grimes as he steps away from his role as Certified Angus Beef® brand board chairman. In this video, he reflects on his time as a breed representative.
Lemons Into Meat Sticks
FFA member thinks outside the box with direct-marketing venture.
Direct marketing has gained fervor in 2020, but 17-year-old Kraysen Leornard was ahead of the curve, turning her FFA project into a viable direct-marketing and retail business. The high school senior at El Dorado Springs in Missouri turned proverbial lemons into literal meat sticks when a knee injury sidelined her from showing cattle and playing sports.
She wanted to do something different for her FFA agribusiness project, wanting to develop the “bright, newest thing.” After attending the Missouri Agribusiness Academy her sophomore year, she and her father, Todd, tweaked some ideas she brought home. Instead of selling specialty cuts from her show steers, they decided to create beef sticks instead.
In the Cattle Markets
International beef trade dynamics.
The latest monthly trade data were released by the USDA Economic Research Service last week. The September data continued to show adjustments from the beef production and beef price changes earlier in the year, as well as the effects of global beef demand.
The Link
Enrolling in AngusLink is about as simple as asking Siri, but are you ready to give it a try?
Our smartphones seem to be able to do everything. Let’s give this a try: “Hey Siri, enroll my calves in AngusLinkSM?”
Siri says, “There is increased value for your feeder calves when you enroll in AngusLink. Producers have seen increases from $4.49 to $22.36 per hundredweight when they compare their sale prices to Age-and-Source-enrolled calves on sale day.”
On The Export Front
USMEF details creative global marketing solutions, elects new officer team at virtual planning conference.
Adapting market development programs for U.S. pork, beef and lamb to a COVID-affected world and meeting the rapidly changing needs of international consumers were dominant themes of the U.S. Meat Export Federation (USMEF) Strategic Planning Conference, which was convened virtually Nov. 10-13.
