Starting feedlot cattle correctly is one of the most important parts of the entire feeding program. A feedlot animal is being asked to make a major transition: from pasture, backgrounding or a previous management system into a high-energy, tightly managed environment where rapid weight gain is the goal.

Robby Kirkland knows cattle, and he knows people. And what he knows most about both people and cattle is that no two are exactly the same.

Tyler Cozzens, agricultural economist with the Livestock Marketing Information Center, shared an update on the global beef market, and Troy Applehans, a senior market analyst with CattleFax, also discussed the current state of the cattle markets and gave an outlook for 2026 at the 2025 Range Beef Cow Symposium held in Cheyenne, Wyoming.

Typically, feeder cattle concentrations have shifted north from Kansas and Texas into states such as Iowa and Nebraska in the summer months; however, the industry has seen new movement beginning earlier this year.

A lot of producers still have questions about the efficacy of many feed additives, but these products could put extra dollars in your pocket when you market your cattle. 

Since the purchase price of calves is currently high, there can be a wide price spread between the purchase price of cattle that came from a good vaccination and health program versus cattle that have not.

The USDA’s latest Cattle on Feed report, published May 24, showed that 1.87 million head of fed cattle were marketed in April, a more than 10% increase from the same period last year.

The number of straws of beef semen sold to the dairy industry has more than doubled in the last five years, although dairy cow numbers have been relatively stagnant. So what has changed?

With the fall calf prices setting up to be some of the highest since 2014, stocker and feedlot operations may be forced to purchase cattle that are higher risk than they are comfortable with when it comes to the chance of bovine respiratory disease (BRD) in order to fill pastures and pens.

“I’ve noticed it before, not just in this cycle,” says Kenny Burdine, extension professor in livestock economics at the University of Kentucky. “There is a tendency with some producers, when prices are high, to almost become satisfied and to be less focused on adding value when they feel like they are getting a pretty good price for their calves.”