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The sale must go on – or does it?

Congress passed the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act on March 31, pouring $2 trillion into the economy and aid for those affected by COVID-19. Although some lawmakers balked at the hefty price tag, there was strong bipartisan support for the bill.

This year’s Beef Improvement Federation (BIF) Research Symposium and Convention is moving to a virtual event scheduled for the week of June 8.

Economists often say that market prices are determined by demand and supply. What they really mean is more correctly stated as “market prices are determined by expectations of demand and supply.” Under more stable and normal circumstances, this distinction is not particularly significant.

Nationwide response to the COVID-19 pandemic continued to shake segments of the entire beef industry near the conclusion of a historic March 2020. Consumers continued to purchase food commodities off grocery shelves, while ag economists, like their counterparts on national economics, all began preparing for the reality of a recession.

The USDA-FSIS recently announced that Brazilian fresh beef would soon be allowed back into the U.S. Brazilian beef exports were banned back in 2017 due to recurring concerns about public health issues, sanitary conditions and animal health issues.

The USDA National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) released its semiannual Cattle report on Jan. 31. The total number of cattle and calves on Jan. 1, 2020, was estimated at 94.4 million head, nearly 400,000 head lower than the previous year.

Why did April 2020 live cattle futures lose $10.675 per hundredweight (cwt) from Friday, Feb. 21 to Friday, Feb. 28? Why did it recover $3.70 per cwt over the next three trading days?