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Agricultural Marketing Resource Center (AgMRC) |
| The Agricultural Marketing Resource Center is an electronic, national resource for producers interested in value-added agriculture. Browse commodities and products, investigate market and industry trends, study business creation and operation, read research results and locate value-added resources. |
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American Cowman |
| American Cowman is a web site created especially for family farms with up to 100 head of cattle. Their goal is to offer timely, practical production and management strategies that will add efficiency, value, and profitability to cattle herds with up to 100 head. The site features a production management “tip of the week,” industry news, new products and spotlights upcoming events, beef industry commentaries, and value added ideas for small family farms. Other special features include a library of informative articles on facilities, nutrition, animal health, pasture and range management and genetics. Profiles of real producers are also included. |
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Beef Cattle Herd Health Vaccination Schedule |
| The purpose of this fact sheet, from the University of Arkansas, is to provide the cattle producer with a basic herd health vaccination program. It is important to contact your veterinarian to determine if additional vaccinations are required for your area. |
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Beefacts |
| An online collection of statistics and marketing information made available by the Texas Cattle Feeders Association and updated annually. From this page it is possible to download the entire collection or to download individual chapters. Adobe Acrobat Reader is required. |
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BeefBasis |
| This website provides Cattle Basis Risk Analysis Tools to give producers the information and analytics they need to improve marketing decisions influenced by cattle basis risk. This site is completely free of charge to producers.
Forecasting tools include Basis and Price Forecast and Hedge Analysis tools as well as a Market Data tool. |
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Cattle Feeding Return Risk Analyzer© |
| The Cattle Feeding Return Risk Analyzer©, from NAIBER, was designed to provide a market-based, research-grounded estimate of the risk facing cattle feeders who are placing cattle on feed. The computer-based tool is intended to enhance cattle feeder ability to identify the sources of risk and to comprehend the nature of the financial risks associated with cattle feeding. In addition, the tool should be useful to other individuals with a stake in risk associated with fed cattle production, including lenders, management consultants, and input suppliers. |
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CattleFax |
| A member-owned information organization serving producers in all segments of the cattle business, this site provides cattle and beef industry statistics and market and economic analysis. Its services include cattle market prices, forecasts and analysis, futures market quotes (live cattle futures and basis, feeder cattle futures and basis), and beef and meat prices and analysis. This is a subscription site. There is a free 14 day trial.
Members have unlimited access to a professional staff of analysts. Cattle-Fax is the only information service that provides data and analyses based on more than standard USDA data. |
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CattleNetwork |
| CattleNetwork.com provides both a free and subscription-based service. The free site is open to everyone and features news items and market data of interest . The subscription site costs $99.99 per year or $12.99 per month. The subscription includes a daily cattle trader newsletter with market information and market comments. The subscription site is devoted to market information relevant to the cattle trader. It is also possible to sign up for a free newsletter containing general news about the cattle industry, which is sent twice per week. |
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Feuz Cattle and Beef |
| A web site is dedicated to providing timely market analysis. Box beef prices, fed cattle prices, and feeder cattle prices are analyzed on a weekly basis. Break-even projections are provided for various cattle feeding enterprises. Various hedging and option strategies are presented each week. In addition to a weekly market commentary, more detailed stories are contained on the web site. Links to text, spreadsheet, and presentation files for down loading and links to other market resources are provided. |
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Focus on Feedlots |
| Created in 1990 at Kansas State University to provide basic feedlot performance data for steers and heifers, and feed ingredient prices. Each month, closeout data from various Kansas feedlots are summarized to provide average values for days on feed, average daily gain, harvest weight, dry matter feed conversion, cost of gain, and death loss, as well as corn and alfalfa hay prices. |
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Fresh Beef Marketing Opportunities due to Dietary Vitamin E |
| The connection between general oxidative processes and the oxidation of oxymyoglobin in beef has been appreciated for a long time. Rancidity in lipids is due to the formation of fatty acid oxidation products, and the correlation between the oxidative processes involved with rancidity and discoloration is well-known. |
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Management Software Tools |
| These software tools, from The Beef Cattle Institute, are in a variety of formats and include calculators for cow/calf producers, feed lots, marketing, and nutrition. |
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Market Context for BSE |
| An overview, from the USDA's Economic Research Service, of the market impacts of BSE on the US beef industry. Updates on related developments, including enhanced testing, measures taken by the government to prevent the spread of BSE, and information on technical aspects are also included. |
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Market Journal |
| A free, educational outreach effort presented by the University of Nebraska Cooperative Extension, Market Journal provides:
* current grain/livestock market commentary and analysis;
* weather, climate, and soil moisture updates;
* proven marketing and management ideas;
* risk management strategies;
* updates on current ag policy issues;
* practical advice from seasoned, working producers;
* opportunities to share information and ideas; and
* access to the resources of the University of Nebraska and NU Cooperative Extension.
Market Journal is available on the Web whenever you want it:
Every Market Journal program is archived and broken down into compact audio and video clips summarized and listed by topic. Search our database for just the information you need, or access entire Market Journal programs whenever it's convenient for you.
To automatically received the updates to the Market Journal or to receiving the weekly shows as podcasts you must subscribe. Subscription is free. |
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North American Institute for Beef Economic Research |
| The North American Institute for Beef Economic Research (NAIBER) is a collaborative effort between members of the US and Canadian beef industry to address complex issues facing the North American beef industry. NAIBER serves as a center for knowledge discovery and information dissemination on critical economic issues facing the North American beef industry. |
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Opportunities for a Sustainable Meat Industry in Vermont |
| The report discusses beef/meat production trends, increasing consumer demand for local, natural, and organic beef as well as the current effects of fires at 2 beef processing plants. The report discusses the need for more legislative support for beef production as well as the advantages to the state of having a strong beef production industry.
The document is a PDF file. |
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Producing and Marketing High-Value Calves |
| Cow-calf producers are searching for ways to add value to calves and make their operations more profitable. While individual producers can not influence average market prices, they can control some of the price variation at auctions
and other market outlets by following sound market-management practices. |
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Beef Export Verification Programs: What Should Cattle Producers Do? |
| Growth in beef exports to other countries will make it necessary to approve more beef for export under the appropriate Beef Export Verification (BEV) program for the particular export destination. In most cases, this will require age verification. While processors can rely on physiological carcass grading, supplies of eligible cattle may eventually be insufficient to meet the demand particularly for Japan (where the age requirement is more restrictive at less than 21 months). Therefore, producers should be prepared to provide production records documenting age if they want to have their cattle eligible for export. In order to meet the requirements for the BEV program, they must enroll in or create a Quality Systems Assessment (QSA) program or Process Verified Program (PVP) to document and verify cattle age. Several existing QSA programs and PVPs offer producers the opportunity to enroll cattle in an umbrella program, thus eliminating the need for all individual producers to create their own program. Some of these programs may offer additional verification claims that could have value in some markets and some programs may better fit the production practices and cattle types for individual producers. Therefore, producers should review requirements of various QSA programs and PVPs and evaluate one which best fits their existing production and marketing practices. This publication provides an updated list of QSA and PVP programs approved by the USDA. This file is also available as a PDF download from http://www.ianrpubs.unl.edu/epublic/live/g1637/build/g1637.pdf. The PDF file is 719.30 KB. |
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Fed Cattle Pricing: Basis Contracts |
| This fact sheet describes the forward contracting process and identifies advantages, disadvantages, and issues related to basis contracting. 116 KB |
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Fed Cattle Pricing: Grid Pricing Basics |
| This fact sheet introduces the concept of grid pricing and discusses several management and marketing implications if fed cattle are sold on a grid as compared to being sold on a live or dressed weight basis. 88 KB |
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Fed Cattle Pricing: Live and Dressed Weight |
| The objectives of this fact sheet are to discuss: (1) the general pricing process packers follow in determining bid prices for fed cattle; and (2) the steps followed in both live weight and dressed weight pricing. 99 KB |
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Feeding Natural Cattle |
| Some consumers are willing to pay a premium for “natural”
beef products from production systems not utilizing
implants, ionophores, or antibiotics. This publication discusses what constitutes 'natural', purchasing and marketing natural cattle, costs of grain, breakevens and other risks that affect natural beef premiums. 40.07 KB |
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Grid Pricing Calculator |
| This fact sheet describes a Microsoft Excel spreadsheet designed to teach several aspects of grid pricing and its implications. 103 KB |
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Grid Pricing of Fed Cattle: Base Prices and Premiums-Discounts |
| The purpose of this fact sheet is to specifically distinguish formula pricing from grid pricing, discuss price discovery implications from using alternative base prices with premium-discount grids, and show how premiums and discounts have varied over time. 227 KB |
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Livestock Gross Margin Insurance for Cattle |
| Livestock Gross Margin (LGM)insurance provides protection against a decline in the cattle feeding margin by simultaneously hedging the input costs of corn and feeder cattle and the fed cattle selling price as a bundled option. This insurance policy is available for both calf finishing and yearling finishing operations.
This publication is also available in PDF format at http://www.ianrpubs.unl.edu/epublic/live/g1641/build/g1641.pdf. The PDF is 729.57 KB. |
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Livestock Risk Protection Insurance |
| This NebFact discusses Livestock Risk Protection insurance available to feeder and fed cattle producers and swine producers. This file is also available as a PDF download from http://www.ianrpubs.unl.edu/epublic/live/g1723/build/g1723.pdf. The PDF file is 672.91 KB. |
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Understanding Livestock Pricing Issues |
| This fact sheet explains the differences between price discovery and price determination, identifies how they are interrelated, and provides an indication when price discovery concerns may increase. 78 KB |
Associations and Organizations
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BEEF.ORG - National Cattlemen's Beef Association |
| Beef.org is the homepage of the National Cattlemen's Beef Association (NCBA), the site contains information on Cattle Industry Conventions and Meetings, NCBA government affairs efforts, cattle industry news, addresses and links to members of the Federation of State Beef Councils and other informaion. It also provides access to web sites funded by the Cattlemen's Beef Board and the Federation of State Beef Councils. |
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Livestock Marketing Association |
| The Livestock Marketing Association (LMA) began as a grass roots organization dedicated to providing auction marketers with access to the latest industry information and a voice in federal and state government. LMA remains committed to upholding a strong tradition of industry leadership by promoting the best interests of livestock marketers, providing a continuum of valuable services and key information on vital issues like revenue protection, key legislation and industry advancement. |
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R-CALF USA |
| A non-profit membership association, R-CALF USA's mission is to represent the U.S. cattle industry in trade and marketing issues to ensure the continued profitability and viability of independent U.S. cattle producers. |
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U. S. Meat Export Federation |
| The U.S. Meat Export Federation (USMEF) is a nonprofit trade association working to create new opportunities and develop existing international markets for U.S. beef, pork, lamb and veal. The site provides information regarding animal health and meat nutrition, world economic trade analysis and data, as well as multi-language international meat manuals. USDA and other government regulations for meat plant safety and quality control are also available along with scientific research papers from government, university and industry experts on meat producing, trading, processing and packing. |
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United States Cattlemen's Association |
| Website devoted to the aims of the Association -- "To present an effective voice for the United States cattle industry. USCA is dedicated to, and focused on, efforts in Washington, DC to further the interests of cattle producers on mandatory country of origin labeling, international trade, market competition, reform of the mandatory beef checkoff, animal health, welfare and identification, private property rights and other issues that affect the U.S. cattle industry."
The site features current news of interest, the policies and by-laws of the organization, a virtual library on current cattle industry issues, a list of officers and committees, committee chairs and members and other items of interest.
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