Cattle Optimism

Cattle Optimism

David Sparks Ph.D.
David Sparks Ph.D.
Cautious optimism is the predominant attitude among cattle producers during the first month of the year, according to Michael Kelsey, executive vice president of the Oklahoma Cattlemen’s Association.

“Cautiously in the sense that we’ve got a new administration coming in that we’re fully anticipating a lot of new regulatory ideas, a lot of new challenges that are going to be very difficult for us to maneuver and we’re going to have to be very vigilant as we move forward in that sense. So, that’s the cautious side of things. Beef demand through COVID and we anticipate moving forward has been incredible. We want to keep the gas on the fire if you will on that. That’s optimistic.”

 

The retail sector is rebounding, and trade is growing. Kelsey noted perhaps the trade arena is an area where the Biden administration can build some new markets.

Meanwhile, Kelsey says more cattle producers are turning to direct marketing.

“They’re looking at different ways to market their cattle, not trying to say one is better or worse, just what do I have available to me to market my cattle, to value-add to my cattle, whatever the case may be. And that’s really independent of size, we’ve seen members who have five head and members who have 5,000 head who are doing some of the same investigation of new opportunities and new markets, that’s optimistic for our industry.”

 

That’s Michael Kelsey, Oklahoma Cattlemen’s Association executive vice president.

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