March 2023 Cattle Projections
Posted: March 16, 2023 | Written By: Heidi Doering-Resch, MS, Form-A-Feed
There’s a lot of uncertainty as we look to refill pens and the future of the dollar. With costs of cattle, input costs, vet, trucking, and interest all increased and increasing further it takes a little wind out of the sail, leading to more second-guessing on a positive outcome for the next set of cattle going into the yard.
This month’s Form-A-Feed feedlot projections echo these thoughts as futures seem to have the thought of recession built into them when you look at supply and demand. Going into the spring months we typically see beef demand increase and while our choice/select spread is starting to showcase this, the presumed offering for cattle in the future months doesn’t seem to forecast as high of profits as one would hope with the current cost of gain and domestic and international demand.
Winter months seem to be catching up to cattle in outside yards with most of the current sale offerings coming from cattle reared under roof. Hot carcass weights are lower than last week and almost 18# lighter than last year. Mother nature didn’t help offset high feed costs this year for those yards or those who got caught off guard and continue to try to play catch up.
Going forward we will continue to look at ways to reduce cost of gain whilst still competing for fewer cattle to enter the feed yard with cow numbers at a historical low. Retailers will be looking at value-added beef to keep consumers interested in beef protein amongst competition in the protein market.
Being critical of your feeding program and knowing the return on investment with the tools available to help make beef more profitable should be discussed before the next set of cattle roll into the yard.
Please contact your Form-A-Feed Nutrition and Production Specialist with any further questions.