Wet weather and flood conditions have packed a punch this year in Manitoba. While the effect on cropland has been tremendous, the effect on cattle producers has been widespread as well. This is the time of year when producers move cattle to pasture, but this year, a great deal of pastureland is underwater or soaked… Read More
Category: Cattle
Its sometimes staggering how quickly the mood of a market can change. With US cattle on feed placements being higher by 10% compared to a year ago the resulting plethora of beef to move to the market means lower prices in the short term. Canadian cattle feeders are getting the benefit of a very narrow… Read More
Wet weather hasn’t just played havoc for farmers trying to get into their fields, feedlot operators across the west are dealing with disastrous conditions in their pens. Those muddy wet, conditions impact cattle movement and gains in the yard. Producers are bedding cattle, moving cattle, or cleaning what they can in the pen to… Read More
With the record high fat cattle prices behind us, we have entered the spring lulls which usually bring the same sentiment. This year many producers are staring at expensive inventory, potential sky rocketing feed costs and some nice profits made in the first four months of the year. With the seasonal summer lows expected to… Read More
When things are profitable for the feedlot operator, we generally see those operators start to fill pens. That’s the historic trend and it just makes good sense. However, the Canfax numbers for March show cattle placements down again in Canada. As the number of cattle on-feed drop, producers who depend on those numbers begin to… Read More
Over the past few years U.S. DDGs have worked their way more and more into Western Canadian livestock rations. The energy value is good, the starch content is less, helps to prevent acidosis in cattle, improved feed conversions and the quality and yield grades of carcasses remain unaffected when switching from traditional rations. Another big… Read More
When the media talks about profitability in the cattle business most times we talk about ranchers and feedyard owners. The other part of the beef value chain that cannot be forgotten is the cattle packer. Packers have not had a real great run as of late which has meant four day kill weeks. As we… Read More
Barley is bumping off of $200, corn is $7.00 per bushel and dressed cattle prices are just under $200. What is going on here? With inputs and cattle prices both in bull runs it is easy to get caught up in the assumption that this will last forever. As the old saying goes, what goes… Read More
It has been a challenging year for cattle feeders in the respect that unhedged cattle have performed well financially but the majority of cattle for progressive producers were contracted or hedged. On top of this is the fact that replacing cattle in the feed yard is very expensive based on the break evens that are… Read More
I can remember back earlier in the year when Anne Dunford told me that, “higher prices doesn’t mean higher profits.” It would seem that this is proving to be very true in the cattle markets. Feedyards that locked in with contracts are disappointed and wishing more cattle were being sold in the cash market. The… Read More
As the cattle industry contemplates the rebuilding of the cow herd, bull selection strategies will become incredibly important to ranchers profitability in the future. Once better known as an art, bull selection is a science now. Gone are the days when an old cowboy could walk out into a pen and say, “I like the… Read More
The way that feedyard owners handle cattle has a massive impact on gains and the overall health of the animal. Many of you have used the snake and tub concept originally designed by Temple Grandin (i think?) When I was at the NCBA convention I ran into a very cool booth that was giving live… Read More
There has been quite a bit of commentary in the media recently from certain farm groups like the NFU and R-Calf regarding the need to eliminate or more strictly regulate speculators in the market. Interest in commodities has greatly increased in recent years which has increased the volume of speculators trading in corn, beef and… Read More
With growing concern over the realities of a limited calf supply do to the aggressive culled cow rate in the past five years. Ranchers are optimistic in their economic future because of the barriers of re-entry and the inability for supply to increase in the near term. I discussed the cow calf supply issue with… Read More
It seems that a cowboy is judged by a couple different metrics. He’s judged by the way he wears his cowboy hat, the brand of chew he carries, and the kind of boots he wears. I really have none of those since I don’t wear a hat, don’t chew and never wear boots. How would… Read More