The holidays are ahead, and the sleigh is full of hay. Despite drought conditions over the summer, most areas are seeing a slight surplus of hay with lots of attractive-looking lots being offered up for sale.

Idaho's top five ag commodities set record highs for value of production.

The USDA released its monthly Cattle on Feed report on June 23, indicating a 3% decrease from year-ago levels. On feedlots with more than 1,000 head of capacity, 11.6 million cattle are on feed for slaughter in the U.S. Feedlot placements for the month of May totaled 1.96 million head, up 5% from 2022, with net placements at 1.88 million head.

In addition to setting a global value record with one month to spare, U.S. beef exports also set annual value records in several individual markets.

Idaho extension economists look at hay prices and factors influencing pricing for 2023.

It doesn’t always take an article to make a point. Sometimes a picture is “worth a thousand words.”

The latest USDA Cattle on Feed report pegged the Oct. 1 cattle on feed inventory at 11.45 million head, down 0.9% year over year. This is the first year-over-year decrease in the monthly on-feed inventory since December 2021.

USDA’s Foreign Agricultural Service recently released the latest Livestock and Poultry: World Markets and Trade report. The report provides estimates for production, consumption and trade for beef, pork and chicken for major countries. The article focuses on the Mexican beef and cattle industry.