Cow-Calf Profits

 Is beef up or down. Cow-calf operations profitable or no? The picture is not clear. Right back. A host of economic indicators suggest that the recession has ended - with more positive than negative signs for the U.S. and the world economies. It may also signal a recovery for the cattle industry. That said, Ag Economist Chris Hurt notes that through September beef production has contracted by five-percent, and that finished cattle prices have not gone up with the tightening supply lines.

 The Livestock Marketing Information Center is a cooperative effort involving state university extension specialists, USDA economists and industry cooperators. According to James Robb, Livestock Marketing Information Center Director they have lowered the estimated returns to cow-calf producers in 2009. “It’s a bit more difficult than we predicted for cow-calf producers. Obviously, calf prices have declined a little bit more than we anticipated in the fourth quarter of this year. Also some of the feed stuff costs are a little bit higher so we did lower our cow-calf returns, they’re going to be very similar for most cow-calf producers, last year in 2008, was the first time in 10 years that many cow-calf producers did not cover their costs of production. So it looks increasingly like in terms of last year, it looks like better cow-calf returns we have to wait till 2010.”

 There’s no silver lining here but that’s not just cow-calf, it’s everywhere.