I figured they would be rising with the demand now.

I find it surprising also. I understand people aren't eating out as much, so the demand there is less than normal.

However, I was at the commissary last night on base. They had 2 packages of steaks, some tripes, and 4 packages of roast. There was absolutely no ground beef. And usually they have about 10 packages of 8 different cuts of steak.

The demand at the grocery stores has been worrisome. No beans, no rice, no bread, no tomato sauce, no peanut butter, no beef, no turkey, no bottled water(which wouldn't be too big a deal, but we are camping every available weekend between now and Memorial Day). I was able to get a package of toilet paper, as they were stocking it when I was on the isle. No cleaning supplies. As of now, I'm able to feed my family, and hoping people slow down with their panic.

EMY92 said:

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I figured they would be rising with the demand now.

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The spike (craziness) is short term. Consumption levels didn't change, just the hoarding.

Economic challenges for many will soon be a factor in what purchases are made.


At least a lot of people will have toilet paper....

EMY92 said:

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I figured they would be rising with the demand now.

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Grocery stores might have a run, but restaurants and wholesalers have drastically lower demand right now, so probably offsets the higher demand from individual consumers. Saw an interview with C&Js bbq in B/CS with the guy saying that even with them still offering pick up and drivethru orders, their business will still likely be down 75%, so restaurants and places like them wont be ordering near as much.

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Not just cattle. Almost ALL agriculture commodities are currently priced below the cost of production.

Cotton, corn, wheat, soybeans, etc. The trade war with China had been brutal to the ag sector before the current oil collapse and corona virus.

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Agreed that most commodities are below cost of production and prices suck right now, but really the trade war that started back in 2018 hasnt had as big of an effect on prices as what you might think it has.

Corn for example had some of the highest prices in the last 5 years in 2019. Granted most of that was tied to the late midwest planting, but if you look at average corn price since the end of the commodity boom (so after 2012) it really hasnt been all that different these last couple of years, vs what it was in say 2014, 2015, etc. before the trade war. Same with cotton, cattle, and many others. Cant speak for soybeans, sugar, or a few others as I dont really watch those prices since so little Texas farmers grow them, but many of the standard row crops didnt see as much of a change as you might think. Soybeans are probably the biggest crop affected as I do know they had one of the bigger payments from the MFP.

But no matter which way you look at it, just like watching the stock market dive off a cliff, commodity markets havent been fun to watch the last couple of weeks too. If you look at a chart that tracks the dow or s&p, corn, cattle, and cotton all pretty much mirror the drop they took. Crazy times.

GinMan said:

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My son is trying to sell his livestock show steer project now that they shutdown the youth livestock shows in Houston and Austin. It's been tough

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I had a friend on Facebook in the same situation. They setup a raffle, selling 100 tickets for $25 ea. with the 1st ticket drawn getting 1/2 the steer, and 2nd & 3rd tickets drawn getting 1/4 each. I'm pretty sure they sold all the tickets in less than a day.

Could you elaborate on what makes the quality poor from show animals?

I've got a load of 40 head of 1200lb steers ready to go but I won't ship until either some pricing rebound or I run out of feed (I currently have over 1,000 rolls of hay)

I intend to buy some younger momma cows when we get closer into the bottom and let th market rebound a little then sell some older cows I currently have as a way to introduce some new genetics and some youth to my herd.

I'm really happy we made the decision last fall to shift our farming operations to produce feed for our cattle instead of chasing commodity markets.

SpiderD02 said:

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Could you elaborate on what makes the quality poor from show animals?

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Also interested (and extremely skeptical)....meat from show steers and hogs we have had was top shelf/ great eats.
And I've never heard of a processor being critical of butchering a show steer.

SpiderD02 said:

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Could you elaborate on what makes the quality poor from show animals?

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This. Genuinely curious.

GSS said:

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SpiderD02 said:

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Could you elaborate on what makes the quality poor from show animals?

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Also interested (and extremely skeptical)....meat from show steers and hogs we have had was top shelf/ great eats.
And I've never heard of a processor being critical of butchering a show steer.

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Depending on the show, many have not outlawed products like Pay Lean, which is essentially steroids for livestock. This leads to poor quality meat and off colored grey colored meat in show pigs.

Additionally, many pigs are drawn down for weight and impacts their meat quality vs a finished animal. This can be fixed by feeding them out obviously.

Maybe it's personal opinion, but that's just my experience showing animals and working with folks in the production side of the business.

Many traits that are rewarded in the show ring are polar opposites of what the production industry is looking for in a quality animal.

I love stock shows and have supported and participated in them all my life. Don't get me wrong. But this is just my experience helping with them, and working around the industry.

I would not buy a show animal out of the show ring. I'd by a cast off that is fed out and was for a show with strict supplement rules that prohibited the Pay Lean type products.

I'm late to the conversation here but, feel obligated to weigh in.

The largest reason for large packers not wanting to purchase animals from these shows is not necessarily due to having inferior carcasses from improper feed practices. Instead, it is the added stress that those animals go through shortly before going to the packing plant.

Cattle or hogs raised commercially spend a significant amount of time living together. They have established hierarchies. When you throw 1500 steers together, that have largely been raised individually, there will be a large amount of time spent on those calves (or hogs, sheep, goats) fighting with each other. This creates short term stress on the animal which can cause ecchymosis (blood splash) in the meat.

As far as feeding paylean is concerned, I'd like to clear up a few things. Paylean (ractopamine hydrochloride) is NOT a steroid. It is a beta agonist. It shifts nutrients toward increasing the muscle fiber size on the animal as opposed to those nutrients going to fat deposition.

IF fed off label, which is illegal, there could be some side effects. However, kids doing that are the exception to the norm.

Additionally, the use of ractopamine is a common practice in commercial cattle and hog operations.

Finally, I don't think I could more firmly disagree with you in saying that the show ring is discounting skeletal integrity. Livestock that are moving through the show rings are EXPONENTIALLY better designed from their hooves up. Agenjake mentioned the hogs that showed in the 90s vs the ones now and I agree. Hogs and steers now days are much more athletic than they once were.

I'm always up for a good debate about the differences in the livestock world!

Packers making a killing and ranchers getting killed....same old story different day