Total U.S. cattle imports were down 7.4 percent in March compared with one year ago. Monthly imports of cattle from Mexico were down about 1 percent while cattle imports from Canada were down 17 percent year over year.

Bred cows vary in value according to a number of factors, including age, quality, weight, stage of gestation, hide color, time of year and location. Research at Oklahoma State University has examined 15 years of auction data in Oklahoma to determine the impact of these factors on commercial bred cow value.

The U.S. beef cow herd expanded 3.5 percent in 2016 to a January 1, 2017, level of 31.2 million head, up 1.04 million from one year ago. This follows USDA-NASS revisions that showed the January 1, 2016, beef cow herd inventory at 30.2 million head, up 2.9 percent from 2014.

Cattle prices in 2017 are expected to average close to fourth quarter 2016 levels, though they will be lower than 2016 for year-over-year averages. Several factors may have a significant impact on cattle and beef markets in 2017 and may change current price expectations. These factors bear close watching in the coming year.

The transition to bigger beef supplies (and psychologically to the idea of bigger supplies) that began impacting cattle markets in 2015 continued in 2016.

Considerable ado has been made about large beef cold storage totals for the past year. This has resulted in questions, concerns and confusion among cattle producers and others about the implications of large cold storage holdings.

The latest global meat trade estimates from the USDA Foreign Agricultural Service indicate that beef production and consumption among major beef countries is growing in 2016 and is projected to grow additionally in 2017.

The beef industry’s transition to larger beef supplies in 2016 has been challenging. A persistently bearish psychology and ridiculous volatility in live and feeder cattle futures recently has contributed to a meltdown in cash markets and a mood among producers that is best described as fear.

Memorial Day weekend is an important test of beef sales and beef demand. The success of the first big grilling holiday will be assessed over the coming days. There are indications that beef advertising features increased to support large volumes of beef purchased by retailers for the weekend.