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Severe winter weather is impacting cattle price forecasts in many parts of the country.
Andrew Griffith, an extension agricultural economist at the University of Tennessee, said many cattle producers are having a hard time getting their animals to market.
“For most Tennessee cattle producers, there was no viable way to get their cattle to market,” he said in his weekly market outlook. “Similarly, it would have been equally difficult for someone to buy an animal at the market and transport it to a new home. Given the very low temperatures expected to continue and rain forecast for next week, Due to limited sales, it is unlikely that a price trend will be established next week.
Bad weather usually results in heavy marketing once Mother Nature starts cooperating.
“This has an impact in that some producers may have had the intention of selling their calves at the beginning of the year but did not have the opportunity to do so,” Mr Griffiths said. “So, weather permitting, the floodgates should open and we should see a ton of calves coming into town in February. The current may flow from February to April.
“Despite all these expectations, most producers keep enough feed in front of their animals to keep them warm and have access to fresh water in the midst of low temperatures. I’m just trying.”
This uncertainty forces producers to exclude markets on a regular basis.
“Considering the futures market, January feed cattle futures peaked at just over $268 in mid-September and bottomed out around $210 in the first week of December. “The $58 drop in expected prices was a tough pill to swallow, but the market has slowly recovered to the low $230s this week,” Griffiths said.
“This may not seem like a big win, but it shows traders are overreacting, as they generally are. Challenging record high contract for feed cattle during spring It may be difficult.”
