News Update

September 26, 2017

Does Fort Worth Ever Cross Your Mind?

When Fort Worth does cross your mind, I would bet your first thought is of a Longhorn steer. Rightfully so, as Fort Worth was one of the stops on the Chisholm Trail, along which Longhorn cattle were driven north in hopes of capturing higher prices. The city has a rich history in the cattle business. It is home to the Fort Worth Stockyards, which at one time was one of the largest stockyards in the United States. Right across the street from the stockyards were the Armour and Swift packing companies, both of which set up shop in the early 1900s and thrived for more than half a century.

Longhorns do not walk the Chisholm Trail anymore, Armour and Swift have closed and only a few pens remain in the stockyards for historical purposes. The landscape of Fort Worth has changed. Skyscrapers tower over the city, the 16th largest in the United States. More than 850,000 Americans call it home, and millions of tourists come to visit. The city plays host to several events, conferences and trade shows throughout the year. One in particular will be of interest for cattlemen — the 2017 Angus Convention and Trade Show Nov. 3-6.xz

— Adapted from a column by Mark Sims, American Angus Association.

Bacon and Chicken Up, OJ Too

Higher retail prices for several foods, including bacon, chicken breast, orange juice, sliced deli ham and flour resulted in a slight increase in the American Farm Bureau Federation’s (AFBF) Fall Harvest Marketbasket Survey.

The informal survey shows the total cost of 16 food items that can be used to prepare one or more meals was $51.13, up $1.43, or about 3%, compared to a survey conducted a year ago. Of the 16 items surveyed, 12 increased and four decreased in average price.

Several foods showed significant retail price increases from a year ago, including bacon, chicken breast and orange juice, according to John Newton, AFBF’s director of market intelligence.

“Bacon was up significantly because of the lower inventory and higher prices of pork bellies. We saw a rally in wholesale bacon prices this summer and fall, which is being reflected at the retail level,” Newton said. “Bacon is a sexy food item in restaurants and everywhere else, creating an inventory decline and thus a price increase.”

Read the full AFBF news release online.

— Adapted from a release by the American Farm Bureau Federation.

Cattle On Feed Update

Cash live slaughter steer prices posted an uptick last week, feeder cattle at Oklahoma City were about unchanged, and slaughter hogs continued to drop week over week. In the futures market, using the average of the daily closing prices, all the live (fed) cattle contracts had higher prices for the week. The October fed-cattle contract averaged $109.63 per hundredweight (cwt.), up $2.49 week over week and was the highest since the first week of September.

The Sept. 22 Cattle on Feed report by USDA’s National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) could be classified as a modestly bearish surprise, even though the numbers were within the prereport ranges. For a prereport discussion see the Daily Livestock Report dated Sept. 20. Those ranges were very wide and both animals placed into feedlots during August and the inventory count were above the prereport averages. The full report is available online. Animals placed during August were 2.6% above a year ago, and the Sept. 1 on-feed count was 3.6% above 2016’s. As expected, cattle marketed by feedlots during August were aggressive (up 5.9% year over year).

View the full report at www.dailylivestockreport.com.

— Adapted from a report by Len Steiner, Steiner Consulting Group.

Developing Heifers

“A system only works great in that particular system,” said John Hall, superintendent of the University of Idaho’s Nancy M. Cummings Research, Extension and Education Center in Carmen, Idaho. Hall spoke on the topic of heifer development at the Applied Reproductive Strategies in Beef Cattle (ARSBC) symposium in Manhattan, Kan., Aug. 29-30. He encouraged his audience to concentrate on certain concepts and build their own systems to meet their unique needs.

A heifer needs to calve at 2 years of age; produce a calf every 365 days for eight to 10 years; and provide a calf that is big enough, healthy enough and quality enough that she pays for herself, Hall said. He encouraged producers to “think outside the box” regarding management strategies to help achieve that goal.

Biostimulation is one way to think outside the box, Hall said. Exposing heifers that haven’t begun cycling to a bull can effectively cause onset of puberty.

It’s also important to note that what happens to a dam during pregnancy can affect a heifer calf for the rest of her life, Hall said.

Continue reading this Angus Beef Bulletin EXTRA article online.

— Adapted from an article by Shelby Mettlen, Angus Media.

Tony Frank Named 2018 Citizen of the West

The National Western Stock Show (NWSS) has named Tony Frank the 2018 Citizen of the West, an award that recognizes those who embody the spirit and determination of the Western pioneer and perpetuate the West’s agriculture heritage and ideals. A committee of community leaders selects the recipient.

Frank is the president of Colorado State University (CSU) and chancellor of the Colorado State University System. He will receive the prestigious award at a dinner on Jan. 8, 2018, at the National Western Events Center. Proceeds from the event support 100 scholarships awarded annually to colleges and universities in Colorado and Wyoming by the National Western Scholarship Trust.

Growing up in Illinois, Frank was heavily involved in 4-H and has since been inducted into both the Illinois and Colorado 4-H Halls of Fame. After graduating from Wartburg College, he earned his doctorate in veterinary medicine from the University of Illinois, and a doctorate in comparative pathology from Purdue.

For more information, please view the NWSS news release online.

— Adapted from a release by the National Western Stock Show.

— Compiled by Paige Nelson, field editor, Angus Media.

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