U.S. lawmakers on both sides of the aisle clamored all last year for legislation to “fix the broken” live cattle market. Late in the year, some introduced measures that would upend the way in which the majority of live cattle are purchased by packers. They argued that the measures they proposed would put more money […] Read more
Live cattle market rally belies ‘broken’ claims
Prime Cuts with Steve Kay
Leverage in the cattle market at last
Prime Cuts with Steve Kay
Leverage is everything when it comes to buying or selling many goods and services. The cattle market is no exception to this, whether it is at the auction market or in the feedlot. U.S. cattle feeders over the past 18 months have had a tough lesson in what happens when they don’t have leverage over […] Read more
Beware of government “help”
Prime Cuts with Steve Kay
The government is here to help you. How many times have you heard that expression and reeled at what that help might mean? This is what the U.S. beef industry is facing in light of calls by U.S. lawmakers to demand government mandates on required minimum negotiated cash markets for live cattle. Some members of […] Read more
Christmas cheer without prime rib
Prime Cuts with Steve Kay
Adorning the Christmas dinner table with a succulent beef rib roast is a longstanding tradition for meat lovers in the U.S. and, I daresay, in Canada as well. But American consumers, at least this year, might have to forego this hugely popular holiday item for a lower-priced cut. This is because wholesale rib prices are […] Read more
Drought rears its ugly head
Prime Cuts with Steve Kay
BSE cases and E.Coli O 157:H7 recalls have roiled the North American beef industry over the past 25 years. But neither have had more of a long-running impact on the industry as drought. Severe to extreme drought conditions have now returned to much of the western half of the continent and are having an impact […] Read more
Meat packers face labour crisis
Prime Cuts with Steve Kay
American beef processors and possibly those in Canada face a labour shortage that might be the worst in the two countries’ history. Ironically, U.S. beef processing margins are record large for this time of year. But labour constraints mean slaughter levels are lower than they should be to handle the available supply of fed cattle. […] Read more
For beef processors, the buck stops here
Prime Cuts with Steve Kay
As beef producers in Western Canada know only too well, opening a new beef processing plant is the easy part. Running it at an eventual profit is an entirely different matter. Maybe the producers who invested in the ill-fated Rancher’s Beef plant in Balzac, Alta., should talk with the producers who are investing in two […] Read more
China takes a liking to U.S. beef
Prime Cuts with Steve Kay
Chinese consumers are rapidly taking a liking to U.S. beef. China reopened its market to the U.S. in February last year after a Phase One deal between the two countries removed nearly all the technical barriers that had prevented most U.S. beef from entering China. Volume was tiny for several months but began to pick […] Read more
Beef plant essentials
Prime Cuts with Steve Kay
It is never easy to build a new beef processing plant, let alone operate it successfully. Just ask the group of cattle industry investors who sunk $40 million into a brand new plant near Balzac in Alberta. The plant opened to great fanfare in 2006 but closed just 14 months later because of tight margins […] Read more
North America’s high-quality beef
Prime Cuts with Steve Kay
The Canadian and U.S. beef industries have much in common. In fact, their markets for both cattle and beef are more highly integrated than anywhere else in the world. They have another thing in common that no other beef-producing country has. They produce the highest-quality beef in the world and more than any other nation. […] Read more
Canadian Cattlemen Presents: Depth of Field
