February 22, 2022 | Vol. 15 : No. 2
It’s not as simple as some people think. While more farmers and ranchers have become interested in bypassing the middlemen and selling beef directly to consumers, there’s more to it than posting “beef for sale” on social media. Even though increasing numbers of consumers like the idea of buying beef directly from producers, cultivating their loyalty isn’t easy.
About 45 years ago, I would run to the mailbox to get the newspaper every day. I loved seeing the pictures of tractors slowly making their way to Washington, D.C., and wondering what the heck they were going to do when they got there. I recall one guy who had an old tricycle-front-end John Deere without a cab who looked so determined in every picture I saw of him.
The Freedom Convoy today reminds me of the late 1970s and the American Agriculture Movement.
The Masters of Beef Advocacy (MBA) program managed by the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association, a contractor to the Beef Checkoff, hit 20,000 graduates in early February. Created in 2009, the MBA program is a free, self-guided online course that provides members of the beef community — from farmers and ranchers to students, supply chain members and consumers — the tools and resources needed to become a strong advocate for the beef community.
February 8, 2022 | Vol. 15 : No. 2
CattleFax market analysts painted a positive picture for cattlemen during the organization’s outlook seminar at the 2022 Cattle Industry Convention and NCBA Trade Show in Houston Feb. 2. According to the analysts, cattle price and profitability trends for producers are pointed in the right direction, even as challenges and uncertainty persist with continued disruptions from the pandemic. While issues around labor and packing capacity have lingered, both are expected to improve in the year ahead. These expansions in capacity, combined with strong global and domestic consumer beef demand, suggest increased profitability across segments, signaling a market that is healthier and more stable in the year ahead.
There is a lot to love in our business, but it isn’t all sunshine and roses. One of the most frustrating areas has always been in the way we market our cattle. I remember nearly 40 years ago when we started talking about the need to base feeder-cattle marketing on objective measures rather than subjective ones. We talked about the need to exchange information up and down the segments so we could both increase value and allocate it from a total systems approach to avoid the convoluted and misguided signals our segmented system often sent. There were millions of dollars invested in pursuit of this holy grail, but to little effect, especially for the cow-calf producer.
Cattle-on-feed inventories for feedlots with a capacity of 1,000 head or more totaled 12.037 million head Jan. 1, 2022, up only 0.58% vs. 2021, but almost 3% above the previous three-year average. This is the sixth-highest inventory since the series began in 1992, and it is down 0.57% from the second-highest inventory level, which was achieved in February 2021. February 2006 had the highest inventory levels.
In this Angus Proud series, Editorial Intern Jessica Wesson provides insights into how producers across the country use Angus genetics in their respective environments.
Angus Proud: Scott SproulOklahoma operation learned wisdom of moving calving season to better suit their marketing needs.
Angus Proud: Bubba CrosbyFall-calving Georgia herd uses quality and co-ops to market calves.
Angus Proud: Jim MooreArkansas operation retains ownership through feeding and values carcass data.
Angus Proud: Les ShawSouth Dakota operation manages winter with preparation and bull selection.
Angus Proud: Jeremy StevensNebraska operation is self-sufficient for feedstuffs despite sandy soil.
