Most cattle market watchers were expecting the auction barns to begin 2016 with higher prices compared to their last sales of 2015- and that expectation was fulfilled on Monday in a strong way.

The Oklahoma National Stockyards in Oklahoma City had last sold cattle December 14th- and compared to that sale- the Monday auction saw feeder cattle and calves $10 to $20 per hundred higher- many sales in that $15 to $20 higher range.

USDA Market News Reporter Tina Colby writes in the Monday midsession market report that "Demand is especially good
for those heavier weight steers and heifers that could still finish in April."

We also have the Monday report from Joplin- and while their price advance was not as much as Oklahoma City- it is compared to a sale held December 21st- which was higher compared to their December 14 sale- so the $3 to $10 higher on Steer calves and $6  to $12 higher on Steer yearlings is consistent with the Oklahoma City price.

Seven weight steer yearlings ranged from $165 to $174 in Oklahoma City, and slighter less in Joplin at $158 to $170.

Meanwhile- the wholesale boxed beef trade continued the rally on Monday that we saw all of last week. Ed Czerwein at the Amarillo, Texas USDA Market News office has supplied his weekly overview of boxed beef prices for last week(we get this every Monday from him) and it shows we gained $14.97 a hundred on choice boxed beef this past week- Monday through Thursday .

AND- you can add another five bucks to that wholesale boxed beef price based on Monday's action- the Monday afternoon boxed beef price report showed choice beef at $218.06- up $5.47 compared to last Thursday. Total load count was 139 loads.

Mondays, Dr. Derrell Peel, Oklahoma State University Extension Livestock Marketing Specialist, offers his economic analysis of the beef cattle industry. This analysis is a part of the weekly series known as the "Cow Calf Corner" published electronically by Dr. Peel and Dr. Glenn Selk. 


"Cattle markets in 2015 transitioned from what 2014 was to more like what 2016 will be. Beef production will be up three to four percent annually from 2015 levels, which was the lowest since 1993. Increased beef production in 2016 is still a low number historically. That increase began with a two percent year over year increase in beef production in the fourth quarter of 2015. Beef production will grow more in the second half of 2016 as limited recent feedlot placements will constrain beef production the first few months of the year.


"Beef herd expansion was aggressive in 2015. The annual inventory numbers due out on January 29 will confirm just how aggressive and how the stage is set for 2016. Herd expansion will continue in 2016, though perhaps a bit slower than earlier expected as a result of the market shake-up in late 2015. Feeder cattle supplies will increase on a projected 1.2 percent higher 2015 calf crop but will be tempered by continued heifer retention and lower cattle imports. Cattle imports from Canada were down 27 percent year over year through October and Mexican cattle imports, though up nearly five percent for the year, dropped an estimated 30 percent year over year in the fourth quarter of 2015. Herd rebuilding in both Canada and Mexico and lower U.S. cattle prices will likely keep cattle imports down in 2016." 

Click here to read more from Dr. Peel's weekly analysis.

A couple of years ago, the beef industry decided to put virtually all of their domestic marketing resources into cyber space- focusing on reaching millennials online. Oklahoma Beef Council Executive Director Heather Buckmaster said she believes digital marketing is paying off. She said the beef checkoff has looked at the longterm beef demand building strategies on the domestic and foreign level. The beef checkoff switched to digital marketing to better target millennial consumers, which live their lives online. With fewer beef checkoff funds with a smaller national cattle herd, she said there were fewer dollars to promote beef. In switching to digital marketing, she said this has become one of the best ways to efficiently target and share information with consumers.


"What I love about digital marketing is it provides you that opportunity to learn," Buckmaster said.


In having a display ad on a consumer or recipe website, she said you will learn very quickly if the ad is working. She said the Beef Checkoff is working to promote consumer-facing resources such as the Beefitswhatsfordinner.com website through amplified Google search results to position beef for searches such as "family meal time solutions" or "economy meals."


The BIWFD website continues to be one of the industry's best resources for reaching consumers, helping to promote beef as the "go-to" protein for consumers.  Click or tap here to read or to listen to this Beef Buzz feature.

Concerns over their current financial situation and expectations for the future have pushed crop and livestock producers' confidence to an all-time low in the history of DTN/The Progressive Farmer Agriculture Confidence Index (ACI).


According to the latest survey, producers' overall confidence fell to 92.7 from 99.4 in August and 103.4 a year ago. Concerns over their current situation dropped significantly over the past year from 113.3 last December to 101.5 in August then to 92.2 following this year's harvest. Farmers' expectations about the future decreased from 98.0 in August to now 93.1. The value of 100 is considered neutral. Values above 100 indicate optimism, whereas values below signify pessimism.


"This marks the first time in the history of the Ag Confidence Index that each of these measurements has been in the pessimistic range at the same time, and it's an indication that farmers are facing some hard economic realities," said DTN Markets Editor Katie Micik, director of the confidence index.


Since 2010, DTN/The Progressive Farmer has conducted the ACI three times a year - before planting, before harvest and after harvest.  Click here to read more about the results of this survey.

Cattle and lesser prairie-chickens both need healthy rangeland to thrive. Through voluntary conservation efforts, farmers and ranchers in the southern Great Plains can restore habitat for this iconic bird while strengthening working lands.


The Lesser Prairie-Chicken Initiative offsite link image (LPCI), a partnership led by USDA's Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS), works to enhance lesser prairie-chicken habitat one ranch at a time. A number of the initiative's successes are highlighted in a new report called the "Lesser Prairie-Chicken Initiative: Conservation across the Range."


Since 2010, farmers and ranchers have made conservation improvements to 1 million acres by implementing sustainable grazing systems and removing invading woody species to restore prairies.  The report highlights the conservation efforts of a number of ranchers.  Click here to read more.

Congrats to Becky Samples, who has been named vice president of strategic corporate communications. In her new role, Samples will work with senior leadership and oversee communications for Oklahoma Farm Bureau and Affiliated Companies.

"Becky is a tremendous asset to our organization, and we look forward to her leadership in this new role," said Monica Wilke, executive director, Oklahoma Farm Bureau and Affiliated Companies. "As the state's largest general farm organization, Becky will lead OFB's efforts to efficiently and effectively communicate with our membership, including policyholders of our insurance company."

Click here for more...

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Smithfield Foods reports that they have passed the 80% mark in the number of sows on company owned farms in the US that are now in group housing.

Smithfield has had a target to get this done by 2017- and the company reported yesterday that they are on target.

More details on their work in this direction are available here.

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This coming Friday- the American Farmers & Ranchers have planned a Farm and Ranch Forum at the Chisholm Trail Expo Center in Enid- starting at 9 AM.  The meeting room they are using is in the north end of the building.

Oklahoma Attorney General Scott Pruitt is their keynoter at 9:30 AM, followed by a Panel presentation on State Question 777, which yours truly will be moderating.

More details about the morning's events are available by clicking or tapping here.