Reading Time: 2 minutes The number of sows slaughtered last week rose to the highest level in eight months, U.S. government data showed on Thursday, underscoring farmers’ rush to liquidate their herds due to rising feed costs caused by the worst drought in 56 years. The rush to slaughter could bode well for consumers in the short-run as a […] Read more
U.S. sow slaughter hits eight-month high amid drought
U.S. June cattle placements slip as corn prices rise
Reading Time: 2 minutes Fewer young cattle moved into U.S. feedlots for fattening last month as high feed grain prices likely discouraged producers from wanting to feed them, the U.S. Department of Agriculture and analysts said on Friday. That left many young steers and heifers on pastures that had not yet been damaged by drought, analysts said. USDA’s cattle-on-feed […] Read more
U.S. cattle herd at 60-year low
Reading Time: 3 minutes The U.S. cattle herd has shrunk for the fifth straight year to a 60-year low, a government report showed on Friday, as a devastating drought and record high feed costs hit production, which will likely mean even higher beef prices for consumers. One of the worst droughts since the Dust Bowl days in the 1930s […] Read more
Bull run in U.S. cattle may lose steam, for now
Reading Time: 3 minutes Texas rancher Jim Selman is on the verge of going out of the cattle business, a victim of one of the worst droughts since the Dust Bowl in the 1930s. The more than 300 cattle on his 3,000-acre ranch in Gonzales County have dwindled to a mere seven, as the verdant pastures turned into dried-up […] Read more
Cattle placement in U.S. feedlots takes surprise jump
Reading Time: 2 minutes The number of cattle placed in U.S. feedlots rose in November, according to the U.S. Agriculture Department, surprising analysts, who attributed the increase to record-high cattle prices and a seven per cent pull back in corn prices last month. USDA’s monthly cattle on feed report on Friday showed placements up four per cent in November […] Read more
U.S. beef packer losses seen reaching record levels
Reading Time: 3 minutes U.S. beef packers are making record losses as the price they pay for cattle is outstripping what they earn on beef, private data showed Dec. 9. Analysts said the losses were record large and could force leading beef producers such as Tyson Foods and JBS USA to reduce cattle slaughter and beef production in a […] Read more
U.S. cattle supply up, but no beef bargains seen
Reading Time: 2 minutes The number of cattle placed in U.S. feedlots rose unexpectedly last month, government data showed Friday, which analysts said set the stage for a larger-than-expected beef supply this winter. Placements, which came in about three per cent more than the average trade estimate, helped to lift cattle supply in feedlots by five per cent from […] Read more
A message from April Stewart, Country Guide's Associate Editor
