Agricultural News
Peel Reviews First Half of 2015 and Provides Outlook for Cattle Producers
Fri, 19 Jun 2015 12:24:05 CDT
With nearly half of the year in the books, Oklahoma State University Extension Livestock Marketing Specialist Derrell Peel reviews the cattle markets so far for 2015. He said tight cattle supplies continue to be the market driver for prices. U.S. beef cattle production is down about five percent for the year-to-date, slaughter is down over seven percent. Peel said heavy carcass weights have helped offset that decline.
"Tighter than expected supplies so far this year, good strong prices, retail prices are at record levels, wholesale prices have set record levels and you know, cattle prices across the board are holding very steady in the first half of the year," Peel said.
Radio Oklahoma Network Farm Director Ron Hays featured Peel on the Beef Buzz feature. Click or tap on the LISTEN BAR below to listen to today's Beef Buzz.
A key part of producer profitability comes from consumer demand. With beef production down, consumers will be paying more for hamburger and steak at the grocery store and at restaurants. Peel said so far consumers are continuing to demand beef.
"The demand side has been positive so far, but we continue to be nervous about it," Peel said. "Beef's kind of out there all by itself right now, in record prices, at the same time pork and poultry supplies are increasing. We know the pressure will be there and there is a sort of wait and see attitude, a little a bit of holding our breath to see that beef demand continues as strong as it has been so far."
With spring planting nearly complete, Peel said the feed grain situation looks pretty good. Corn acreage domestically was forecasted to be lower than a year ago. He said corn acres may be down a bit due to delayed planting, but not enough to change the overall price expectations.
In looking at the outlook for cattle producers, Peel remains very optimistic. Right now, he said producers are still trying to figure out the best way to take advantage of this strong market.
"We've got these good strong prices, we're going to continue to see that through 2015 and most, if not all of 2016," Peel said. "We might begin to see some price pressure build into 2017."
In the meantime, producers are focused on herd expansion. With the drought situation improving this spring, Peel said that's allowing producers to be on offense for the first time in four years, rather than playing defense with Mother Nature.
The Beef Buzz is a regular feature heard on radio stations around the region on the Radio Oklahoma Network- but is also a regular audio feature found on this website as well. Click on the LISTEN BAR below for today's show- and check out our archives for older Beef Buzz shows covering the gamut of the beef cattle industry today.
WebReadyTM Powered by WireReady® NSI
Top Agricultural News
More Headlines...
