Senior Farm and Ranch Broadcaster Ron Hays talked to OSU Extension Livestock Market Economist Dr. Derrell Peel after the latest USDA Cattle of Feed Report was released on Friday afternoon and reflected no surprises. They talked about the pressure on cattle and bull prices in this second part of the conversation. The first part was posted yesterday and can be found here.
Dr. Peel said that the pressure on those markets is seasonally expected albeit a bit stronger than expected at this time. He said, “Beef cow slaughter is running sixteen percent down on a year-over-year basis. Total cow slaughter is down about fifteen percent, because dairy cow slaughter has also been down.”
Dr. Peel will watch the markets for the normal fall run of cull cows, but suspects that many may have already been moved. The October Cattle on Feed Report will provide the quarterly breakdown on steers and heifers on feed.
“We are still looking for some indication that the heifer numbers are dropping,” he said. “Heifer slaughter, so far this year, is down about 2.1 percent. Which is about what it was last year, for the whole year. It is down more than steer slaughter is, so far this year, but it isn’t down enough to suggest that we are really holding heifers. We will watch pretty keenly that heifer on feed number that comes out a month from now.”
Dr. Peel predicts that the markets will pick up again in the last quarter of the year, pending the outcome of current drought conditions in Oklahoma and across the U.S.
“It certainly has gotten drier nationwide and the prospects are threatening going forward,” he cautioned. “That is something that producers will keep an eye on, not only for the rest of this year but more importantly, as they make plans for next year.”
He predicted that cowherds will still be down in 2024, and the prospects for herd growth in 2025 are also very limited. He’s hoping at least for stabilization if producers will save heifer calves this fall so that they may produce calves in 2026 and demonstrate herd growth.
The Beef Buzz is a regular feature heard on radio stations around the region on the Radio Oklahoma Ag Network and is a regular audio feature found on this website as well. Click on the LISTEN BAR at the top of the story for today’s show and check out our archives for older Beef Buzz shows covering the gamut of the beef cattle industry today.
