The 2019 beef production forecast was raised by 88 million pounds from the previous month to 27 billion pounds. The increase was based on a faster-than-expected pace of fed cattle slaughter and greater expected cow slaughter.

USMCA moves forward

After a year of debate and negotiations, the Trump administration and U.S. House Democrats have finally reached an agreement on the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA), needed to make it ready for ratification from Congress. 

Winter has already reached many ranches across the country. In a recent online poll, Progressive Cattle wanted to know how ready ranchers' tires were for winter.  We asked, "What do your pickup tires look like right now?"

October beef exports totaled 108,017 metric tons (MT), an 8% decline from last year's large volume, while export value ($649.1 million) was down 11%. Through the first 10 months of 2019, beef exports were down 2.5% in volume (1.1 million MT) and value ($6.75 billion) from last year's record pace.

Ranchers show confidence that 100% animal-based meat will continue to be in high demand in the market. 

The latest USDA Cattle on Feed report pegs Nov. 1 feedlot inventories at 11.83 million head in feedlots with a capacity of 1,000 head or more. This is 101.2% of last year and up 4.8% from October as feedlot inventories increase to a seasonal peak.

On Nov. 21, 2019, the USDA Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) published a study on livestock mandatory reporting (LMR) negotiated slaughter cattle market reporting.

The USDA’s National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) will mail letters with survey codes this December to more than 22,000 U.S. producers involved in certified or transitioning to certified organic farming for the 2019 Organic Survey.

Sen. Jon Tester (D-Montana) recently introduced a resolution to reinstate country-of-origin labeling (COOL) for beef and pork. COOL labeling was repealed for beef and pork in 2015 and has since been a topic of interest for American producers.