As harvest season approaches, you should have a good sense of your expected yields and the financial investments required to achieve them. To best prepare for next season, utilize this information with updated data on expenses and markets to calculate your true break-even point – defined as the value per unit where all expenses for the crop are covered by its revenue.

In this Progressive Cattle Podcast episode, David visits with Kent Bacus, vice president of governmental affairs for the National Beef Cattle Association, at the Canadian Beef Industry Conference about trade negotiations with Canada, and Tyrell visits with Charley Martinez with the University of Tennessee about a study using artificial intelligence (AI) and tracking eye movement to gauge interest in what genetic information producers are looking at in bull sale catalogs.

If the local farming community’s coffee row were surveyed about the beef industry’s major players, the rancher, feedlot operator and packing plants would likely dominate responses.

As we near the feedlot fall run and cow-calf producers market their calves at the highest prices received to date, every additional pound of gain has greater profit potential.

The benchmark reports are interesting and folks tend to value them in different ways, but they are a little more than just a means to compare yourself with your neighbors or fuel a competitive spirit.

When the kids were little and we needed a babysitter to go on a date, it took effort. After we finally found a night that worked for someone to come, inevitably something happened. An irrigation ditch flooded. We got snowed in. The kids got sick. The dog got hurt. Usually, though, the cows got out.

With parts of the country battling their way back from drought and U.S. cattle numbers reaching historic lows over the last few years, it’s reasonable to ask when producers are going to start rebuilding their herds.

Feedlot operators tap into their hard-earned instincts almost every minute of every day. Most also lean into data and information. When critical decisions need to be made, it can be difficult to choose the right lane. Should instinct or data guide the thinking, or is there an overlap? If they’re both valuable, how do producers find their appropriate balance?

In cattle feeding, effective risk management is crucial for maintaining profitability and long-term success. Traditionally, many cattle feeders have relied heavily on fundamental analysis for their marketing strategies.