High prices cure high prices. Low prices cure low prices.This adage has never been truer than in today’s volatile commodity markets.

Cattle markets have rewarded producers over the last several years with historically strong prices. For many cow-calf and stocker operations, that has translated into significant equity built into today’s cattle inventories. But as prices rise, so does the amount of risk tied to every hundredweight.

Risk in the cattle market doesn’t suddenly appear in the cash market. It can surface quietly – first on the board, in how futures are priced, how options reflect uncertainty and how basis behaves compared to those markets.

A payout-less risk management strategy, like LRP or CME options, offers peace of mind, financial stability and long-term resilience for ranchers, even when premiums aren’t paid out.

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.

The cattle market is an uncontrollable, untethered animal. At times, it appears like a siren on the horizon – beckoning with the promise of fortune and prosperity – only to financially shipwreck cattle producers weeks or months before the calves ever sell.

For the past several years, I’ve spoken to numerous groups about tax policy and where we are headed as a nation. I started these discussions by saying, “Where do we stand today …” and began talking through my views.