U.S. Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue didn’t mince words with his audience at the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association annual convention on the challenges facing American beef production.

El Nino conditions have left much of central Brazil dry, along with the Southern Plains in the U.S. and most of Australia. Weather expert Art Douglas told attendees at the annual outlook seminar at NCBA’s annual convention in New Orleans on Jan. 31 that El Nino conditions will most likely continue though summer and into fall, but will bring some relief for drought in the U.S. and a possible, but not probable, increase in moisture for Brazil. Australia will most likely have to wait until fall for the drought to end.

Profitability is the name of the game, but with many of our dairy friends closing up shop and market outlooks that appear grim, it may seem like that week-old calf on a warm spring day – out of reach and impossible to catch.

The five-year expansion of the beef market will continue in 2019 at a slower and more measured pace, explained Kevin Good of CattleFax. And while it may cause some alarm among the beef industry, it’s a measured and typical slowdown based on the business cycle.