The forecast for first-quarter beef production is lowered 25 million pounds, based on USDA Agricultural Marketing Service reports of federally inspected livestock slaughter, showing a slower pace of fed cattle slaughter and lower aggregate carcass weights than expected last month.

The U.S. Department of the Interior on March 30 published a proposal that could shift priorities on 245 million acres of public land managed by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM). The rule would likely mark a sizable shift in BLM practices; according to an agency statement, it intends to put “conservation on equal footing with other uses,” which it says is “consistent with the BLM’s multiple use and sustained yield mission.”

Policymakers need to understand the role multi-plant coordination plays in the fed cattle market as they consider policies aimed at increasing negotiated trade with the hope of improving price discovery.

The Biden administration’s controversial new Waters of the U.S. (WOTUS) rule, initially issued on Dec. 30, 2022, went into effect throughout most of the country on March 30.

The forecast for first-quarter beef production was raised 15 million pounds based on a faster expected pace of cow slaughter in the latter part of the quarter that will more than offset less bull slaughter and lower aggregate carcass weights.

Tyson Foods, one of the largest food companies in the country, introduced earlier in March the first-of-its-kind Climate-Smart Beef Program to promote climate-smart agricultural practices and create value for beef producers along the way.

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Brazil’s Agriculture Ministry confirmed a case of bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) on Feb. 22, triggering an automatic ban on beef exports to China.

There will be producers who have feed resources and believe profits are to be had in 2023 and 2024. The quickest way for these producers to increase the feeder cattle supply is through the addition of bred cows or bred heifers.