I attended the 61st Annual South Dakota Cattlemen’s Association’s Convention and Trade Show this week in Sioux Falls, S.D. where we discussed beef industry hot topics such as estate planning, lawsuit protection, money saving ideas and the economy. In a speech given during the Pfizer sponsored Cattlemen’s College, Dr. John Lawrence of the IA Beef Center presented, “Economic Outlook & Feeding in the Midwest,” where he introduced a few valuable tools for producers to check out in tackling the current economy and the industry’s incredibly volatile prices.

The first tool Dr. Lawrence offered to producers was the new ISU Extension Margin Maker, where “Cattle Crush Margins” are updated each Wednesday for cow/calf operators and feeders to reference. The goal of this tool is stated as, “a risk management education project for livestock producers. Margin maker programs and materials center on the concept of managing the risk of declining revenues and increasing costs.”

The second resource for producers to reference is Beef Basis, a free website offering cattle basis risk analysis tools with the information needed to improve marketing decisions influenced by cattle basis risk. According to the site, “The BeefBasis website was developed by Custom Ag Solutions, Inc. (CAS) and Kansas State University (K-State) in partnership with the USDA’s Risk Management Agency (RMA). BeefBasis gives you relevant information and analytics you need to evaluate marketing decisions and manage your price risk.”

These look like valuable tools for anyone in the business, and I encourage you to share these with your friends in the industry. Check them out, and let me know what you think!