Feeder cattle receipts at the Oklahoma National Stockyards on April 4, 2016, were higher than either week-earlier or year-earlier receipts and were followed with another big run on April 11, 2016.

The Feb. 23, 2016 Drought Monitor showed a spotty increase in D0 Abnormally Dry and D1 Moderate Dry areas in most of the U.S. east of the Basin and range of the West – a major improvement, however, from this time last year, with most of cattle country experiencing favorable weather and improved forage conditions in the first quarter of 2016, allowing cattle to stay on pasture for longer periods.

The Feb. 2, 2016 U.S. Drought Monitor reported very little change in drought conditions in much of the Southern Plains. With recent heavy precipitation, the Feb. 2, 2016 Crop Progress – State Stories reported “good to fair” forage conditions in Texas.

Snow, floods and other major weather events in December 2015 and early January 2016 have impacted much of the Southern Plains. The recent precipitation aided wheat pasture conditions and pond levels.

The USDA is forecasting lower prices in 2016 for cattle, hogs, poultry, eggs and milk. Cattle prices are forecast to decline almost 8 percent compared with 2015 due to larger supplies of heavy cattle, high cold-storage stock levels and sluggish foreign demand.

Much of eastern Texas and the Southeast received several inches of rain in the aftermath of Hurricane Patricia. The U.S. Drought Monitor (Nov. 10, 2015) removed the D3 Extreme Drought classification in much of the Southern Plains; the classification has now been reduced to a combination of D1 Moderate Drought and D0 Abnormally Dry.

Fed and feeder cattle market prices declined sharply late in the third quarter of 2015. For the week ending Oct. 11, 2015, prices for five-area all grades were $125.36 per hundredweight (five-area fed steers report), almost $40 lower than year-earlier fed steer prices. As with fed cattle, feeder cattle prices also took a hit.

Pasture conditions for most of cattle country have improved compared with last year; however, as of Sept. 8, 2015, the U.S. Drought Monitor reported exceptional drought in the West and moderate to severe drought in eastern Texas.

Weather and pasture conditions in most of U.S. cattle country have improved. According to the Crop Progress report of the week ending Aug. 9, 2015, 55 percent of pasture and range conditions are rated “good to excellent,” up from 50 percent a year ago. 

Rainfall has been abundant in most areas of the U.S. The June 30, 2015, U.S. Drought Monitor indicated very little or no drought remaining in the U.S., except in the areas west of the Rocky Mountains. In some areas, rainfall and storms have hampered wheat and hay harvests and adversely impacted other agricultural activities and commodity quality.