With U.S. cow herd size at a 75-year low and with no reprieve in sight, it’s never been more important to protect your cattle and operation. Farmers and ranchers should consider how to protect their animals and operation before it is too late. Here are a few of the topics shared at Cattlemen’s College during NCBA’s CattleCon 2026 in in Nashville, Tennessee.

The U.S. beef industry is entering a period of historically tight supplies and record-strong demand, with shifts in both the beef cow herd and dairy sectors shaping the next several years.

Record-high yields and steady demand have played a major role in keeping fuel and grain commodity prices where they are today.

Stop us if you’ve heard this before: El Nino is on its way. If you’ve been dry for the last few years, there’s moisture on its way to you.

At the 2025 Range Beef Cow Symposium, held in Cheyenne, Wyoming, Jay Parsons with the University of Nebraska – Lincoln (UNL) facilitated a panel discussion focused on rebuilding the cow herd.

Tyler Cozzens, agricultural economist with the Livestock Marketing Information Center, shared an update on the global beef market, and Troy Applehans, a senior market analyst with CattleFax, also discussed the current state of the cattle markets and gave an outlook for 2026 at the 2025 Range Beef Cow Symposium held in Cheyenne, Wyoming.

As it always is, the 2025 edition of the Beef Improvement Federation (BIF) Symposium – hosted June 9-12 in Amarillo, Texas, by West Texas A&M University – delivered boatloads of cutting-edge research results and practical applications of genetic tools.

“Ag has changed yesterday, it’s changing today, and it will surely change tomorrow,” U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins said in a speech to attendees at the Texas and Southwestern Cattle Raisers Association (TSCRA) Convention on April 12. “What has stayed the same for far too long are the broken systems in Washington, D.C. – including systems at the USDA that haven’t been updated in decades.”

Strong beef demand will likely continue in 2025, helped along by potentially tighter supplies as beef producers rebuild their herds and increased engagement in the cattle markets.

The CattleFax Symposium at NCBA’s 2025 CattleCon revealed a fairly healthy supply of feed and grain in the early winter, all thanks to a record-high yield in 2024.