The latest monthly Cattle on Feed report showed the Jan. 1 inventory in feedlots (over 1,000 head) at 11.958 million head, 102.3% of one year ago. This is the largest January on-feed total since 2008.

The U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) is one step closer to ratification. On Jan. 7, the Senate Finance Committee passed the USMCA with a bipartisan vote of 25-3, putting it on the fast track to the Senate floor.

The 2019 fourth-quarter beef production forecast was raised by 100 million pounds from the previous month to nearly 7 billion pounds. This raised the forecast for annual production to 27.1 billion pounds.

The U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) is finally headed to its final destination: the president’s desk. The Senate passed the agreement Jan. 15 with a bipartisan vote of 89-10.

The ongoing wildfires in Australia represent the latest in nearly a decade of environmental challenges the country has faced. This has prompted questions about the impact of the fires on Australian cattle and beef production and trade. This article was compiled from several Australian reports and other media and data sources.

In December, Japan’s majority political party approved the Japanese fiscal year (JFY) 2019 supplementary budget for the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (MAFF) to include additional support measures for beef and dairy producers.

The European Parliament, the legislative body of the European Union (EU), voted to allow the U.S. a larger share of the current 45,000-ton quota, beginning in 2020.

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. 

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.