News Update
February 16, 2018
Dry Spring Expected for
Much of United States
CattleFax market analysts are predicting a likely halt to the expansion of the U.S. cow herd in 2018, at least partly because of weather. Dry conditions have spread across much of the United States and intensified in a large portion of cow country — especially the Southwest. According to CattleFax weatherman Art Douglas, drought conditions are likely to persist and spread even further during the coming months.
Douglas, who is Creighton University professor emeritus of atmospheric sciences, delivered his seasonal forecast during the CattleFax Industry Outlook Seminar at the 2018 Cattle Industry Convention Jan. 31-Feb. 2in Phoenix, Ariz.
Douglas attributed the dry conditions to La Niña — the cooler-than-normal sea surface temperatures existing in the central and eastern tropical Pacific. He said La Niña also has fueled drought conditions in important crop and cattle production areas of South America, Asia and Australia.
“As we go forward, getting closer to summer, La Niña may start easing up,” offered Douglas, agreeing with forecast models predicting a weakening of La Niña and transition to El Niño (warmer Pacific waters) during the summer.
Read the full Angus summary online.
Economy, Energy & Grain
Due to more money coming back into the United States from large companies, the new tax reform is projected to provide an average $900 benefit to the middle class. This good news was shared by CattleFax analyst Mike Murphy at the CattleFax U.S. & Global Protein & Grain Outlook Seminar at the 2018 Cattle Industry Convention & NCBA Trade Show in Phoenix, Ariz.
Murphy shared that the U.S. economy is rebounding, with unemployment projected to be historically low for 2018, between 4% and 4.5%, and the GDP is projected to grow between 2.5% and 4%. He attributed business investments and personal spending to cause about 85% of this GDP rate.
“We are on the right track with economic growth,” Murphy said, though he questioned how the Federal Reserve will respond to the potential of greater inflation. He shared that interest rates will likely increase three or four times this year with the potential of increasing by a full point total. However, inflation does not have a negative effect on retail beef values.
Retail prices have stabilized from the 2014 peaks, and should keep steady dollars entering the beef industry.
Learn more in the full Angus summary online.
Former Angus Regional Manager Receives Award
from National Cattlemen’s Foundation
Will Mayfield, former Angus regional manager and current registered Angus producer from Pulaski, Tenn., has been named the recipient of the Max Deets Leadership Award for 2018 by the National Cattlemen’s Foundation (NCF).
Mayfield was recognized for his outstanding leadership in the cattle industry at the Best of Beef Breakfast during the 2018 Cattle Industry Convention & NCBA Trade Show in Phoenix Feb. 2.
The Max Deets Leadership Award is presented each year to the Young Cattlemen’s Conference chair selected by his or her peers the previous year. The award is named after Max Deets, a Kansas cattleman and industry leader who served as president of the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association in 1997. The award was established through contributions from the Kansas Livestock Association and NCBA.
Mayfield currently serves as the regional beef coordinator for Select Sires in the southeastern portion of the country while remaining active in his family’s Angus cow-calf operation. He served as an Angus regional manager in Delaware, Maryland, Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Virginia and West Virginia from 2012 to 2013. Additionally, Mayfield is the NCBA Region II Young Beef Leader Representative.
Keep reading this Angus summary online.
NJAA Members Awarded Scholarships
from National Cattlemen’s Foundation
Five National Junior Angus Association (NJAA) members were awarded $1,500 scholarships by the NCF during the 2018 Cattle Industry Convention and NCBA Trade Show in Phoenix.
The Chicago Mercantile Exchange Group (CME)-sponsored scholarships were awarded to outstanding students pursuing careers in the beef industry in the next school year. NJAA member Abbey Schiefelbein, a high school senior from Kimball, Minn., was the overall winner of the scholarship for her essay titled “The Importance of Transparency.”
The four other NJAA members each earning $1,500 CME scholarships from NCF were:
- Ryan Callahan, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State University (OSU),
- Bridger Gordon, high school senior, Whitewood, S.D.,
- Cale Hinrichsen, Kansas, OSU,
- Ty Montgomery, Oklahoma, OSU,
- Morgan Scilacci, Oregon, Kansas State University.
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