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Livestock
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Read MoreCattle prices have had a rough spring. After peaking in late 2014 and early 2015, prices have been adjusting downward from very lofty peaks. High prices and profits at that time provided the incentives to expand beef production.
Read MoreThis article discusses recent trends in feed costs for a dairy cow enterprise. A ration consisting of alfalfa, corn silage, corn, soybean meal, and supplements was used to create the feed cost indices.
Read MoreThe nation’s pork producers have indicated to USDA that they are not expanding the breeding herd and, in fact, intend to reduce farrowings this spring and summer. This means pork supplies will be somewhat less than had been anticipated and that hog prices will be somewhat higher.
Read MoreNothing like record cattle prices and profitability to get an industry excited about expansion. The latest USDA Cattle report shows a rapid expansion is underway with cattle and calf numbers up three percent and beef cow numbers up four percent in the past year.
Read MoreThe outlook for the pork industry has turned somewhat more optimistic in recent weeks. The sources of that optimism include a $2 to $4 increase in spring and summer lean hog futures prices since the first of the year and slightly lower new-crop soybean meal prices. A bit higher hog prices and a little lower cost add to the potential for a profitable year.
Read MorePork producers in 2016 are expected to experience another year of tight margins similar to the year just completed. Pork production is expected to rise by about one percent, but beef production will rise by four percent and poultry by about three percent.
Read MoreLive hog prices fell below $40 per hundredweight last week. This means hog prices are at their lowest level since November of 2009 when the U.S. was just beginning to pull off the bottom of the great recession.
Read MoreThe adage that the cure for high prices is “High Prices” is evident this year in beef markets. Finished cattle prices reached record highs around $170 in late 2014 and early spring of 2015.
Read MoreFed cattle prices have declined sharply since early September. This article discusses trends in feeding cost of gain and net returns for cattle finished in Kansas, with emphasis on the extremely large losses currently facing the industry.
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