Livestock Economics

BUDGETS: cow calf, backgrounding, summer grazing

LMIC: Analysis and Comments, In the Cattle Market, Livestock Monitor

MARKET REPORTS: area market reports

PRESENTATIONS: meeting presentations

Chart of the Week

When will Beef Herd Rebuilding Begin?

Many in the beef industry have been wondering when beef herd liquidation would stop and herd rebuilding begin. Two indicators to watch are the number of heifers kept for beef cow replacements and beef cow slaughter. Beef cow slaughter was historically high in the last half of 2011 due to the severe drought in the Southern Plains, where about 30 percent of beef cows in the U.S. reside. With moisture returning to parts of the Southern Plains in 2012, beef cow slaughter had been down 6 percent from last year. And, in the last month, slaughter was down about 20 percent. In spite of the Southern drought, heifers held as beef cow replacements in the U.S. on January 1, 2012, were up 1.4 percent over last year; but still at historically low numbers. Of course, weather this summer will dictate how these two indicators materialize.