KIRKSVILLE, Mo. and PALMYRA, Mo. — The U.S. cattle market has remained high throughout the summer.
KTVO visited a couple of sale barns over the past week to get the latest on what’s happening in the market.
“Just anything that says ‘moo’ and has health about it is very high and very much in demand right now” said Chuck Ambrosia, manager of Kirksville Livestock Market.
According to the USDA Northeast Missouri Weekly Cattle Auction Summary published on Monday, slaughter cattle remained stable while feeder cattle, replacement cattle and boxed beef prices dipped slightly from last week.
While the report attributes slightly lower prices to the end of grilling season and the start of fall harvest, they are still higher than ever.
Market experts told KTVO that the market will not go down significantly anytime soon.
“Prices are going upward the last several months at historic rates,” Ambrosia said. “We are at historic highs right now, and this is basically due to plain ole economics. Supply is very limited; demand is very high. The appetite for meat across the country is tremendous, and across the globe, [it’s] growing all the time. In the meantime, American beef, which is the gold standard, we’re shrinking.”
Ambrosia said that in order to see beef prices go down, herd numbers are going to have to go up.
Justin Angell, a field representative for F&T Livestock in Palmyra, Missouri, explained that right now, the cow-calf producer is seeing the highest profit margins because the demand starts with calves.
“There’s three phases to the cattle industry: you got your cow-calf producer, who produces calves, then the next phase, somebody takes those calves and grows them and turns them into feeder cattle weighing 700 to 800 pounds, generally, then those cattle there go into a feed yard [where] they’re fed to a finished weight.” Angell said.
Ambrosia explained that consumer beef prices are up because of live cattle costs and the increasing expenses faced by producers, packing plants and retailers.
Angell shared his predictions about what to expect moving forward.
“Over a period of time, if everything is just left to its own means, the cycle will return to normal, and within two years, the production will be increasing the supply of feeder cattle and calves will be increasing,” Angell said.
Angell added that while beef prices are on the rise, consumers have not switched over to other proteins, and beef sales haven’t dropped.
He is hoping that consumers continue to eat a lot of beef far into the future.