I have followed the U.S. and global beef markets for the past 35 years. But all those years didn’t stop me from being blindsided by a sudden and pronounced weakness in beef demand in the U.S. during September. Only a few weeks earlier, I had opined in this column and in my own newsletter that […] Read more
Beef demand weakens
Prime Cuts with Steve Kay
Overcapacity crunch time for beef processing plants
Prime Cuts with Steve Kay
No fewer than 10 entities or individuals have announced plans to build new beef processing plants in the U.S. I sure hope they are looking at the current and future size of the U.S. beef herd and how much processing capacity the industry currently has. Should they do so with an open mind, they might […] Read more
Beef demand remains resilient
Prime Cuts with Steve Kay
Beef demand remained remarkably resilient this summer in the U.S., despite record-high retail prices and much cheaper competing meats. The question that I posed in my June column of how demand would hold up has so far been answered with a “better than expected.” But demand continues to face challenges, not just for consumers but […] Read more
How will beef demand hold up?
Prime Cuts with Steve Kay
The entire beef chain, from ranch to retail and restaurant, depends on consumers to keep paying up for beef. But seldom do all links in the chain make money at the same time. Right now in the U.S., cow-calf operators, cattle feeders and packers are all making decent profits. But retail margins on beef have […] Read more
Foot-and-mouth disease is a huge threat
Livestock producers across North America tremble when the name of a certain animal disease is mentioned. They know there has not been a case of the disease in the U.S. since 1929 and in Canada since 1952. But they know the disease is endemic in other countries and could enter the U.S. They also are […] Read more
Moisture is key to success in the cattle business
Prime Cuts with Steve Kay
Cattle producers throughout North America know that sufficient moisture is critical for running their operations. Whether it be in the form of rain or snow, moisture allows grass to grow for grazing and for making hay. It allows crops to grow that feed cattle on the ranch or in the feedlot. It also allows ranchers […] Read more
New processing plant pipe dreams
Prime Cuts with Steve Kay
Who doesn’t dream of building a new, state-of-the-art beef processing plant? As it happens, plenty of people in the U.S. do. Spurred by the perceived lack of slaughter capacity during the worst of the COVID pandemic, more than seven new groups over the past 18 months announced plans to build a plant. There’s one huge […] Read more
How drought might define 2023
Prime Cuts with Steve Kay
The recent holiday season brought the best possible gift to many U.S. cow-calf producers — rain. But two years of extensive drought have had a big impact on U.S. cattle numbers and this might linger in 2023. The silver lining to the drought’s impact is higher prices for all classes of cattle. Cash live cattle prices […] Read more
Prime Cuts: Where’s the (U.S.) beef?
Prime Cuts with Steve Kay: Global beef production expected to be fractionally lower
“Where’s the beef?,” a slogan coined by hamburger chain Wendy’s, is one of the most successful ad campaigns of the past few decades. But in light of a big decline in U.S. beef production next year, global beef users might be asking the same question about U.S. beef. U.S. production is expected to decline to […] Read more
Demand for beef is key in 2023
Prime Cuts with Steve Kay
U.S. consumers in 2023 can anticipate greater availability of pork, broiler meat and turkey but less beef. Demand for all proteins will largely depend on consumer concerns about inflation and whether the U.S. economy has moved into a recession. Beef demand at retail and food service is robust. Beef currently has an advantage over pork […] Read more
Canadian Cattlemen Presents: Depth of Field
