Livestock market transparency takes the spotlight on Capitol Hill as two bills make it past the House floor, legislation that would extend the authorization for livestock mandatory reporting (LMR) through the end of September.

Based on the latest USDA National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) federally inspected Livestock Slaughter report, the inferred (federally inspected production/federally inspected head slaughtered) carcass weight for September is 827.1 pounds, while the USDA Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) weekly actual and estimated federally inspected Livestock Slaughter reports showed that the inferred weight for October was 831.8 pounds, about 4.7 pounds heavier month-over-month.

Winter “feeding season” is upon us, and with that comes a list of questions related to the appropriate type of feed to select, amount to provide and frequency of feeding.

As livestock owners prepare to care for livestock in frigid temperatures, it is important to know where efforts are best spent. Cattle handle cold weather quite well as long as they have a dry, heavy winter hair coat.

Cow nutrition is always on the minds of farmers and ranchers, especially when it comes to cost, quantity and quality of feedstuffs available. Be careful not to overlook it leading up to calving season.

Expected progeny differences (EPDs) can be a great tool to use in making cattle selection decisions. However, EPDs are not the only tools that should be used in the selection process.

The USDA price forecast for corn for 2021-22 continues to remain higher than we have experienced in the previous few years, thanks in part to a significant demand from China in addition to tight domestic demand.