Record-high cattle prices are creating both opportunity and challenges across the industry, according to Scott McCornack of National Livestock. Speaking with Ron Hays on today’s Beef Buzz, McCornack said the first quarter of 2026 has brought unprecedented momentum to the cattle markets, particularly for cow-calf producers marketing calves through the Oklahoma National Stockyards. “The price of these cattle has been just outrageous, and especially it’s been great for the cow-calf producer,” McCornack said.
McCornack noted that many producers are responding to the strong market by selling calves earlier than normal. He explained that the trend of pulling calves forward has been developing for the past year but became even more noticeable after the holidays. “When we came back from Christmas, it seems that we just jumped into almost hyper gear immediately,” he said. “It just took off, just like we were never going to see another day like it.”
The dramatic rise in cattle prices is evident across many classes of cattle. McCornack pointed out that today’s calves and light yearlings are bringing significantly more than they would have just a few years ago. “Literally, we’re talking thousands of dollars per head on many of these calves and light yearlings,” he said. “If you probably go back two or three years, a lot of these cattle are $1,000 a head higher than in the past.”
While cow-calf producers are benefiting from the surge in prices, McCornack said the situation is more challenging for stocker operators. He explained that the cost of buying cattle has tightened margins for those trying to place animals on pasture. “The yearling stocker guy, it’s narrowed their margins down quite a bit with the price of cattle,” he said. In addition, financing needs have grown sharply. “You’ve almost had to really triple your line of credit to run the same amount of cattle over the last two or three years.”
Recent market volatility has also created some short-term pressure on certain cattle classes. McCornack said heavier, fleshy cattle have seen sharper price declines during unstable weeks, while lighter grazing cattle have held up better due to optimism about spring pasture. “You see weeks like this, the quality really stands out and kind of holds the market up,” he said, adding that plainer cattle tend to see larger price discounts when the market softens.
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