Cattle Prices Pt 1
I’m Bob Larson. Addressing the crowd during the recent Cattle Raisers Convention and Expo, hosted by the Texas & Southwestern Cattle Raisers Association, CattleFax CEO Randy Blach says there’s good reason to be optimistic about where the markets are headed …
BLACH … “Prices are going to get higher next year, the year after, and probably all the way into 2024. So, we should see improved profitability for the industry in total, which is really needed. We need to see improved profitability, particularly back for our cow-calf and stocker operators.”
Blach says driving the increase is a classic example of supply and demand. The nation’s cattle inventory is shrinking, caused by extreme drought. At the same time, beef demand is at a 33-year high, good news as the industry recovers from 2020’s price swings …
BLACH … “We made long-term cyclical lows in the spring of 2020. Prices are higher. For example, calf prices are $20 to $30/cwt. higher today than there were a year ago at this same time. Fed cattle prices today are $25/cwt. higher than they were a year ago at the same time.”
Blach says to also expect grain prices to trend higher in the years ahead …
BLACH … “Don’t be surprised if we end up with U.S. corn prices averaging in here at $5 to $5.50 in 2022.
Tune in tomorrow for more on the outlook for cattle prices and why it sounds like good news.
