The U.S. beef industry has struggled for much of the 36 years I have covered it to introduce a meaningful national animal traceability system. Its inability to do so is not only a disgrace but a real danger as a disease outbreak could bring the industry to its knees financially. Various efforts to introduce a […] Read more
Lack of traceability in U.S. beef industry is a disgrace
Prime Cuts with Steve Kay
Look for a slow rebuild of the U.S. cattle herd
Prime Cuts with Steve Kay
The U.S. beef cattle industry is smaller than needed and signals for rebuilding will continue in the coming months. But herd rebuilding is likely to be slow to start and proceed quite slowly initially. So says Oklahoma State University’s Derrell Peel in his latest analysis of the prospects for herd expansion. Meanwhile, a CoBank report […] Read more
Where are all the cattle?
Prime Cuts with Steve Kay
The question in the headline reflects the most pertinent issue facing the U.S. beef industry. That is because the U.S. cattle herd on January 1 had shrunk to its lowest level since 1951. A fifth year of herd liquidation meant the January 1 total for cattle and calves was 87.157 million head, down 1.9 per […] Read more
Beef demand stays unusually strong
Prime Cuts with Steve Kay
All wealth that flows to the U.S. beef industry comes from consumers at home and abroad. How much they are prepared to spend on beef largely determines whether packers, cattle feeders and producers make money or not. It is thus extremely important to monitor beef demand at retail and food service. Beef demand was strong […] Read more
Beef is safe from bird flu
Prime Cuts with Steve Kay
Who would have thought that wild birds would roil the U.S. cattle markets? That’s what happened in late March after reports that the highly pathogenic avian influenza was detected in several dairy herds and had been introduced by wild birds. Any kind of animal-related disease sends tremors through the markets and raises concerns about everything […] Read more
Reality tempers optimism in U.S. beef industry
Prime Cuts with Steve Kay
Reality often tempers optimism in most parts of one’s life. When my newsletter’s website crashed in late January, I hoped a new one would be up and running in about two weeks. It took five weeks and more blood, sweat and tears than I had bargained for. This year began with much promise for the […] Read more
Weather having devastating effects on U.S. cattle producers
Prime Cuts with Steve Kay
I have reported on the livestock industry in several countries for just over 40 years. I can say with certainty that weather extremes in North America surpass those of any other continent except Australia. The latter appears to have cycles of devastating drought followed by flooding. North America gets both extremes and a lot more as […] Read more
Smallest cattle herd since 1952
Prime Cuts with Steve Kay
One has to go back 72 years to find a smaller U.S. cattle herd than what USDA reported at the end of January. Its annual cattle inventory report revealed a fifth year of U.S. herd liquidation in 2023. The January 1, 2024 total for cattle and calves was an estimated 87.157 million head, which was down […] Read more
Praying for rain
Prime Cuts with Steve Kay
My little corner of the world in northern California began the new year with a healthy dose of rain. I wish I could say the same thing happened in Canada, which is said to be abnormally dry. If it didn’t, I’m definitely praying for rain across the entire country. The “abnormally dry” description came in […] Read more
Rough quarter ends 2023
Prime Cuts with Steve Kay
The U.S. beef industry will be hoping for a far better start to 2024 than what occurred in 2023’s fourth quarter. A month remained when I wrote this but the five weeks from the third week of October saw a $9.38 per cwt live decline in fed cattle prices and a $9.89 per cwt decline […] Read more
Canadian Cattlemen Presents: Depth of Field
