The popular CattleFax Outlook Seminar, held as part of the 2021 Cattle Industry Convention and NCBA Trade Show in Nashville, had some positive news for producers last week.
The beef cattle industry is bouncing back from the pandemic, and continued progress is expected in 2022. Beef prices are near record high, and consumer and wholesale beef demand are both at 30-year highs as the U.S. and global economy recover. While drought remains a significant concern with weather threatening pasture conditions in the Northern Plains and West, strong demand, combined with higher cattle prices, signal an optimistic future for the beef industry, according to CattleFax.
According to CattleFax CEO Randy Blach, the cattle market is still dealing with a burdensome supply of market-ready fed cattle. The influence of that supply will diminish as three years of herd liquidation will reduce feedyard placements. As this occurs, the value of calves, feeder cattle and fed cattle will increase several hundred dollars per head over the next few years.
Kevin Good, vice president of industry relations and analysis at CattleFax, reported that the most recent cattle cycle saw cattle inventories peak at 94.8 million head and that those numbers are still in the system due to the COVID-19 induced slowdown in harvest over the past year.
Read more here. Listen to interviews with Blach and Good here.
CIC2021 Interview with Randy Blach, CattleFax 4:39 CIC2021 Interview with Kevin Good, CattleFax 3:57Cattle Industry Convention virtual news room.
2021 Cattle Industry Convention and NCBA Trade Show Photo Album