Feed grain and oilseed prices have undergone some dramatic changes over the past couple of months. These changes are indicative of changes to underlying fundamentals in those markets and will impact the value of feeder cattle and calf prices well into next year. It is worth examining the changes to crop market conditions and thinking about possible prices.

Packers continue to make gains on processing of fed cattle post-COVID-19 plant disruptions in the second quarter.

Feeder cattle markets have displayed very dynamic movements this fall that have implications for cow-calf and stocker producers.

Winter wheat is used for grain-only, forage-only or dual-purpose systems targeting cattle grazing and grain production. In the Southern Plains, stocker producers interested in grazing winter wheat pastures often begin planting wheat in late August or early September. The desire to jump-start wheat forage growth by planting early in the fall must be balanced against frequent seasonal drought and hot soil temperatures that prevent wheat germination.

No segment of the cattle industry has been spared from the uncertainty and turmoil driven by COVID-19. However, the dynamics for the slaughter cow market have been a little different than those for the live cattle coming from feedlots that have garnered the most discussion due to plant disruptions.

Estimating the total economic effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on the economy and the beef industry requires a number of assumptions based on imperfect information. As a result, any economic impact forecast has a wide confidence interval which can only narrow as the pandemic abates and post-quarantine economic data become available.

Falling cattle prices and both market and consumer unrest has increased the pressure from beef industry groups and lawmakers on the USDA to increase their investigations into the cattle markets.

The COVID-19 pandemic is dominating headlines and newswires around the world and bringing drastic change to life as we know it.

The Holcomb, Kansas, packing plant fire has certainly been a black swan event – rare, unpredictable and has had dramatic effects on the cattle industry.

The lingering effects of inclement weather conditions earlier in the year and a greater proportion of heifers and cows in the slaughter mix have largely kept cattle weights below expectations from the previous month. Average cattle carcass weights appear to have bottomed in the week ending June 1, 2019, at 790 pounds.