The USDA recently released a preliminary report of their findings from the investigation into price spread in the cattle markets.

Last Friday, the USDA released the July Cattle on Feed report. Feedlot placements in June were 1.8 million head, 102.1% of last year. June marketings were 1.97 million head, up 1.3% year over year.

The USDA Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) recently announced the purchase of foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) vaccine for the National Animal Vaccine and Veterinary Countermeasures Bank (NAVVCB).

Over the past two months at the time of this writing, U.S. beef packers had to implement new health protocols for dealing with COVID-19 that might have hindered their ability to process cattle.

Mating dairy cows to beef sires is only becoming more and more commonplace in the dairy industry. With tight margins, dairy producers need to add more value to low-end calves destined to enter the meat market. The beef industry is responding to this new market and the opportunities it represents. Angus Genetics Inc. (AGI) sets one example with their new indexes specifically for Angus sire selection for use on dairy cows.

"It is better to aim for the stars and miss than to aim for a pile of manure and hit it." – Unknown

The Choice boxed beef price dropped to $200.47 per hundredweight on July 17, the lowest Choice boxed beef price since December 2017. Both supply and demand factors are at work pushing wholesale beef prices lower.

If you have any kind of livestock, chances are high that your local vet will be a steady (though hopefully infrequent) visitor.

Do 700-pound calves make you more money than say, 400-pound calves? After all, we know only one of these weights will get you bragging rights at the coffee shop.