The Cattle on Feed report released by the USDA-NASS on Feb. 23 showed that animals in feedlots bound for the slaughter market in the U.S. totaled 11.8 million head on Feb. 1, a slightly higher inventory than the same period in 2023.

Few times in history has the cattle industry offered more opportunity for profit to conscientious producers than right now. That was the primary message of CattleFax CEO Randy Blach’s executive summary at CattleFax’s Industry Outlook Seminar on Feb. 2. 

The census showed about a 6% drop in the total number of cattle and calves from 2017 to 2022, to just under 88 million head. However, the total number of cattle sold increased from about $77.2 billion in 2017 to some $89.4 billion in 2022, a jump of almost 16%.

“Where’s my El Nino?”
That’s the question many farmers and ranchers have been asking over the past year, and the answer is one many might not want to hear: El Nino is here, but it’s already on its way out the door.

In its semiannual report released Jan. 31, USDA NASS reported the total number of all cattle and calves in the U.S. at 87.2 million head on Jan. 1, 2024.

In an exchange parroted ad nauseam with my buddies with every charming ounce of teenage wit available to us in the mid-2000s, two movie pirates discuss their Plan B should Plan A go awry: “What if the worst should happen?” “Keep to the Code.”

Some 400 attendees from across North America gathered in Loveland, Colorado, to hear the latest in beef cattle research from some of the industry’s leading experts from government, academia and industry.

On Nov. 15, the Idaho Potato Commission (IPC) hosted its annual Big Idaho Potato Harvest Meeting in Idaho Falls. The “state of the industry” meeting welcomed growers, packers and processors from across the state gathered to network and learn about how the larger industry affects their operations and vice versa.