Sort & Cull

With packers sitting on supplies for at least a month out, someone must ask "when will packers need cattle?" and "when will the cash cattle market be able to demand higher prices again?"

With the onset of severe drought in the West and an abundance of rain in the East, cattlemen are still trying to find the rhythm to this year's market and how they can best capitalize on the market's developments.

On a typical holiday week, such as during the week of Christmas or Thanksgiving, the market doesn't expect to see many cattle trade. But on a usual week, the market fully anticipates seeing anywhere from 70,000 to 120,000 head of cash cattle trade. Last week's movement only...

The market hasn't only deteriorated in the sense that prices are lower for cow-calf producers and feedlots, but also in the sense that the market is losing its voice, its leverage and has even questioned its own trajectory.

More than anything, cattlemen are looking for a sense of what the market could be in the weeks to come. Dealing with unfavorable prices is one thing, dealing with drought and high feed prices is another, but if one can lessen the chances of being blindsided by more challenges...

While I'm thankful last week's cyberattack was quickly dealt with, I'm also here to tell you that the cost of wasted time and missed opportunities is high.

It seems like government officials, industry leaders and the nation's largest cattlemen associations are finally hearing the pleas from the countryside.

While we focus on the matter at hand (fed cattle and feeder cattle prices), we cannot forget to keep close tabs on the nation's cows and monitor their herd trajectory.

High corn prices aren't necessarily a bad thing, but when high corn prices are stacked next to historically low live cattle prices, that's when the real crisis surfaces.

It's hard to say which contributing factor will have a greater pull on the market at this point, but regardless, producers should begin thinking about how they are going to approach marketing their calves this year.

Regardless of what corn prices did last week, what they'll do this week or what they could do in the weeks to come, every market connoisseur will tell you, "the cure for high prices is high prices."

Packers only buy cattle with time when they know that supplies are going to be short, or when they know that the cash cattle market could rally. In the current market's scenario, both are true and both favor feedlots' positions, which cause packers angst.

The biggest takeaway from the rally that's currently developing is that it could be sustained for a period of time, and the market is already seeing how it's supporting the entire cattle market, not just one side of the marketplace.

Moving into this upcoming week's trade, and even looking ahead at the weeks to come, cattlemen need to remind themselves that the market ebbs and flows over time. Take full advantage of what the market has to offer. Don't sit on the sidelines when a rally is begging to...

Seeing the market through the end of the week is vital as there's lost opportunity when the week's business is rushed before Wednesday even rolls around.

Looking at last week's total negotiated trade and knowing that this week's showlists have fewer cattle on them throughout the major feeding states, there is some opportunity that awaits this week's business.

We can't be upset about the rhetoric packers use to make deals; we, as cattlemen, need to learn from their savviness.

Last week's cash cattle market averaged only $114 -- which is $10 to $44 weaker than years past.

With last week's slaughter estimated at a measly 552,000 head, the entire marketplace is going to be fixated on tracking this week's slaughter and praying for a monstrous week.

Last week's market was challenged by the onset of winter conditions, but cattlemen handled the difficulties -- as they always do -- and prepared themselves for what's still to come.