The Cattle Business Weekly
Episodes
34 episodes
In the Cattle Markets: Headlines - Signals
It is rare for a 10-day period to hand the cattle industry a historic supply report, multiple packing plant capacity announcements, and a headline trade policy action. Sorting the signals from the noise matters. Each event has generated ...
Buyers Stay Aggressive as Superior's Big Horn Classic Offering Jumps 75%
Buyers stayed aggressive through a volatile week on the futures board as Superior Livestock Auction marketed more than 197,000 head at its Big Horn Classic, held Aug. 17–21 in Sheridan, Wyoming. The offering ran roughly 75 percent above the hea...
Trump announces additional foreign beef imports
Updated— Aug. 25, 2026 – On Friday, Aug. 21 President Trump announced in a Truth Social post that he would be allowing up to 300,000 metric tons of product for ground beef to be imported into the United States with no tariff over the next 90 da...
Chairty Event is a Beloved Iowa State Fair Tradition
Iowa Governor’s Steer Show raises 2,000 for Ronald McDonald Charities Supporters of the 44th annual Iowa Governor’s Charity Steer Show continue to show up and make a difference, raising more than 2,000 for the Ronald McDonald H...
Cattle and Beef's Summer Struggles
Cattle and beef markets suffered through a significant correction in July. Led by Live and Feeder futures, feeder and fed cattle markets were dragged lower through July; with USDA news of planned opening of the Mexican border adding additional ...
Prestigious Environmental Stewardship Award Regional Winners
The National Cattlemen’s Beef Association (NCBA) is proud to announce the 2026 Environmental Stewardship Award Program (ESAP) Regional winners. Recipients are recognized for their commitment to conservation and stewardship. The national winner,...
Feeling the Heat
Feedlot operators across South Dakota have been under tremendous stress as recent high temperatures have taken a toll on cattle. Keeping cattle cool and comfortable has become a major challenge, and despite producers’ best efforts, death...
Rollins visits Douglas, Arizona
On July 29 U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Brooke L. Rollins visited the livestock inspection facilities at the Douglas, Arizona, Port of Entry, joined by Rep. Juan Ciscomani (AZ-06), Rep. Andy Biggs (AZ-05), Rep. Eli Crane (AZ-02), and Ar...
Dockter convicted in cattle theft case
Daniel Wayne Dockter, 44, of Colfax, North Dakota, was ordered to surrender to jail by noon today (July 31) following his sentencing in Southeast District Court in Richland County yesterday for the theft of more than 130 head of cattle. Dockter...
Only Modest Growth in USDA Inventory Report
Two key USDA cattle reports published on Friday, July 24 pointed to only limited growth in the beef replacement herd for this calendar year. The biannual Cattle inventory report for July found all cattle and calves rose only 200,000 to 9...
Aug. 24: U.S. to Begin Accepting Mexican Cattle
Codi Vallery-Mills Cattle Business Weekly The USDA Animal Plant Health and Inspection Service announced it will begin to accept live cattle imports from Mexico through its Douglas, Arizona, port on Aug. 24. The news came as a surprise to many, ...
Stierwalt Selected to Judge the Prestigious Melbourne Royal Show in Australia
Internationally respected cattle judge and educator Kirk Stierwalt, owner of Stierwalt Cattle and Clinics, has been selected to judge at the prestigious Melbourne Royal Show in Melbourne, Australia, held September 24–October 4, 2026. As part of...
Seasonal Bottom on Carcass Weights
Fed cattle carcass weights appear to have bottomed seasonally and are beginning to move higher, according to the CattleFax Closing Bell update released July 17. Weekly USDA slaughter data showed steer carcass weights increased 2 pounds t...
What's Reshaping America's Agricultural Land Base?
Farmland pressure is often discussed as a national acreage-loss problem, but for farmers and ranchers the more immediate challenge is land access. Land can remain technically “agricultural” while becoming harder to rent, buy or keep in p...
What's Reshaping America's Agricultural Land Base?
Farmland pressure is often discussed as a national acreage-loss problem, but for farmers and ranchers the more immediate challenge is land access. Land can remain technically “agricultural” while becoming harder to rent, buy or keep in p...
Cattle Finishing Breakeven Prices and Net Returns
A new report from Purdue University’s Center for Commercial Agriculture examines the economics of cattle finishing, finding that despite historically strong fed cattle prices, profitability is being squeezed by expensive feeder cattle and eleva...
Cattle Finishing Breakeven Prices and Net Returns
A new report from Purdue University’s Center for Commercial Agriculture examines the economics of cattle finishing, finding that despite historically strong fed cattle prices, profitability is being squeezed by expensive feeder cattle and eleva...
After Terrifying Cow Attack, South Dakota Woman Embraces a Second Chance at Life
For a young woman who has worked with cattle all her life, one moment was all it took to take her from a simple check on a momma cow to ending up in the hospital with multiple injuries. With grit, determination, and inspiration, she’s ba...
How Big Will Cattle Get This Year?
Through the first half of the year, year -to- date cattle slaughter is 8.7% lower than last year, and placements have been higher this year compared to last year. These two stats provide information about current and future beef producti...
Strategic Cowherd Destocking
For many cow-calf operations in the region, significant culling may be required to match cow numbers to the forage available, not only for 2026, but also for the next few years. For operations that have spent generations building the typ...
Strong demand, improving exports offer brighter outlook for grain producers
Shrinking margins, declining grain prices, and growing financial pressure have defined recent years for crop producers. But while agricultural economist David Widmar doesn’t believe those challenges are over, he also doesn’t think the outlook i...
Drought Continues to Spread Across Western Region
June 2026 featured several widespread heavy rain events across the Northern Plains, with some communities receiving more than a month's worth of rain in just a day or two. Oglala, South Dakota, received almost 7 inches of rain on June 2-3. In n...
Cash Rents May Need to Adjust
The challenges facing row-crop agriculture aren’t likely to disappear with the next policy announcement or another round of government assistance, according to agricultural economist David Widmar who spoke at last week’s South Dakota Governor’s...
Zabel: Football Life Parallels Farming
When Grey Zabel talks about farming, he lights up much the same way one would expect him to when talking about his first Super Bowl Championship win. Zabel, an NFL football player with the Seattle Seahawks, was back in his hometown of Pierre,...
Both Can Be True: Strong Demand, Tight Cattle Inventories, and Beef Prices
A lot has been said about beef prices in 2026, and there has been a lot of productive discussion about what is driving them. Some point to historically tight cattle supplies. U.S. cattle inventories are at their lowest since the 1950s, and fede...
