Winter wheat is used for grain-only, forage-only or dual-purpose systems targeting cattle grazing and grain production. In the Southern Plains, stocker producers interested in grazing winter wheat pastures often begin planting wheat in late August or early September. The desire to jump-start wheat forage growth by planting early in the fall must be balanced against frequent seasonal drought and hot soil temperatures that prevent wheat germination.

The traditional meat processing system has experienced several setbacks and ups and downs in the chaos that followed the arrival of COVID-19. Since then, more and more interest has arisen from beef producers and consumers about selling beef directly from the ranch. 

Meatpacking facilities have continued to recover weekday slaughter capacity and have used Saturday as an opportunity to improve overall weekly slaughter totals.

Here’s a look at some of the presentations.

The U.S. is on track for record production of beef, pork and broilers in 2020. Before COVID-19, it was recognized that meat trade would be critical for markets in 2020 and that certainly remains true at this point.

Cattle supplies and movement through the supply chain have been headline topics in 2020. Disruptions caused many changes that impacted producer decisions. It is also important to occasionally take a longer-term view at cattle supplies. Recent reports released provide the most current update on the state of cattle supplies. 

Everybody's done it. "Someday, when we can afford it, we'll –– " or, "Did you hear? Joe's just blown $5,000 on a new ___."

U.S. beef trade continues to adjust to supply and demand shocks. The latest data release from the USDA Economic Research Service (ERS) shows the impact of these shocks on U.S beef exports and imports.

The struggles experienced by the beef industry during the coronavirus pandemic do provide some bright reasons for optimism, said Randy Blach, CEO of CattleFax, during a digital presentation at the Texas A&M Beef Cattle Short Course on Aug. 3.

Since COVID-19 swept across the world, shutting down life as we know it, many industries, the beef industry included, have learned to adapt to the "new normal." Quarantines and shelter-in-place orders have caused widespread cancellations of ag conferences, field days and other eductional events, and the folks who facilitate those events have gotten creative with sharing knowledge with anyone who wants to learn through venues like virtual events and webinars, to name a few.