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U.S. adds packing plant capacity
Comment/Columns, Free Market Reflections

U.S. adds packing plant capacity

Free Market Reflections with Steve Dittmer

By
Recently, I tried a package of Wagyu pre-made ground beef patties. They were priced right so I grilled them up. They were very good. Where did I get them? At Walmart. It wasn’t many years ago one could only buy Select grade beef at Walmart. Reflecting demand for higher-quality beef from customers, now they carry […] Read more
A meat display at a grocery store.
Beef Cattle, Features

Show us the money, Part 1: What does the producer share of the retail beef dollar mean?

When looking at the farmer share of the retail dollar, we must recognize that U.S. prices still dominate the price structures of both our cow-calf and feedlot sectors

By
A common concern in agricultural circles is what proportion or percentage of the price of a litre of milk, a loaf of bread or a beef steak makes its way back to the producer. I have written and spoken about this before, but I cannot do so again without first admitting that I have sometimes […] Read more
Daily slaughter capacity at the U.S.’s 30 largest beef processors slightly increased in 2021 from the previous year.
Markets, Prime cuts

Beef industry faces packer fallacies

Prime Cuts with Steve Kay

By
Misinformation and even disinformation are not new to the U.S. beef industry. It’s fascinating, though, how the onset and impact of the coronavirus pandemic amplified the claims of critics of the industry, especially those of the beef processing sector. Most critics claim the “Big Four” packers control more than 80 per cent of the U.S. […] Read more
The percentage of U.S. cattle grading Prime and Choice remains high but is slightly down from this time last year.
Markets, Prime cuts

Leverage in the cattle market at last

Prime Cuts with Steve Kay

By
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
(Fly View Productions/E+/Getty Images)
Livestock, Markets, Reuters

U.S. packer profit margins jumped 300 per cent during pandemic, economists say

Increased costs don't explain higher profits, White House advisors say

By ,
Washington | Reuters — Four of the biggest meat-processing companies, using their market power in the highly consolidated U.S. market to drive up meat prices and underpay farmers, have tripled their own net profit margins since the pandemic started, White House economics advisers said. Financial statements of the meat-processing companies — which control 55 to […] Read more
Security wear face masks at the Greeley, Colorado, JBS USA meat packing plant where two staff members had died of COVID-19, April 8, 2020. Photo: REUTERS/Jim Urquhart/File Photo
Reuters

Coronavirus infections at U.S. meat plants far higher than previous estimates, House subcommittee hears

By ,
Cases and deaths from COVID-19 among workers at the leading U.S. meatpacking plants were three times as high as previously estimated, according to a report by the House Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Crisis seen by Reuters. The subcommittee surveyed major meatpackers Tyson Foods, JBS USA, Cargill, National Beef , and Smithfield Foods, which together control over 80 percent […] Read more
Processing capacity is not the issue
Markets, News, Prime cuts

Processing capacity is not the issue

Prime Cuts with Steve Kay

By
Beef processing capacity and plant capacity utilization are two different subjects. So I have been fascinated in recent months how some in the U.S. beef industry have equated the two. Their argument is that temporary plant closures and slowdowns in April and early May revealed that the industry needs a lot more capacity, mostly through […] Read more
Masks, face shields and plastic barriers between work stations are examples of the health and safety protocols at Cargill to protect workers from COVID-19.
Beef Cattle, Features, News

Pandemic-battered beef industry may still be in for a rough ride

While Cargill has improved its pandemic protocols, the union representing plant workers wants to see more changes as they head into contract negotiations this winter

By
Cargill’s Canadian meat plants have made some progress in rebounding from the initial effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, but a possible strike in the new year may pose a major setback for the company and the beef industry. “The company has to fix the structural problems that led to the outbreak,” says Michael Hughes, the […] Read more
Dittmer: Natural progression, voluntary adjustment and coercion
Comment/Columns, Free Market Reflections

Dittmer: Natural progression, voluntary adjustment and coercion

Free Market Reflections with Steve Dittmer

By
There is much discussion down here about the negotiated cash market, alternative marketing arrangements (AMA), the “30/14” idea and proposed federal legislation to force more negotiated cash sales (50/14). With the percentage of cash market sales in the 20 per cent range, cattle feeders who often sell cash and those who use AMAs (like formulas), […] Read more
Beef plants cannot operate efficiently without a steady supply of cattle from ranch to feedlot to plants.
Markets, News, Prime cuts

Beef producers get a raw deal

Prime Cuts with Steve Kay

By
North America’s cattle producers were the first in the beef chain to be impacted by the spread of the COVID-19 virus from epidemic to pandemic. Yet they are getting a raw deal from their national governments in terms of financial or other aid. The Canadian and U.S. governments were quick to declare that meatpacking was […] Read more

Canadian Cattlemen Presents: Depth of Field

Glacier Farmmedia Podcast

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AGCanadaTV: In case you missed it; your national ag news recap for Sept. 5, 2025

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