U.S. beef exports totaled 2,566.7 million pounds in 2020, down 2.3% from the previous year but still the third largest annual beef export total.

While you may not be able to enter your local Walmart or any number of other businesses without a mask on, chances are, if you're missing one at a bull sale, you will not be booted out the barn door. 

In the CattleFax 2021 outlook session, presented Feb. 24 during the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association’s Winter Reboot virtual event, CattleFax Vice President of Research and Risk Management Mike Murphy shared the grain and energy outlook for 2021.

“Beef demand to me is a good story,” said Kevin Good during the outlook session of the National Cattlemen's Beef Association’s Cattle Industry Convention Winter Reboot held virtually on Feb. 24.

In 2020, the U.S. exported $7.6 billion in beef and variety meat products (down 6% from 2019); variety meat exports to all partners accounted for 11.8% of that value, down from 12.4% in 2019.

The February Cattle on Feed report from the USDA showed a Feb. 1 feedlot inventory of 12.1 million head, 101.5% of one year ago. January placements were 2.017 million head, up 3.2% year over year.

For the final quarter of 2020, beef production was lowered 80 million pounds on fewer-than-expected cattle slaughtered in December. This decline was particularly driven by fewer steers and heifers in the slaughter mix. As a result, 2020 beef production is forecast at 27.2 billion pounds, almost unchanged from 2019 production levels.

On Feb. 7, 2021, Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minnesota), chair of the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Antitrust, Competition Policy and Consumer Rights, filed the Competition and Antitrust Law Enforcement Reform Act.

Although bull sale season is currently in full swing, in a few short months, producers will be putting their new investments to work during the prime rebreeding months for spring-calvers.