Get the CAB Insider
For Cattle Market Clarity
For more than 10 years, Paul Dykstra has written a bi-weekly market column for the brand which evolved into the CAB Insider e-newsletter. He shares current market updates, trends and observations with a closer look at the cattle market from the beef-product side than you can find anywhere else. Yes, there’s an emphasis on the Certified Angus Beef ® brand, and you will also find the latest research exploring carcass quality.
We want you to have confidence in what is relevant and drives value in your cattle business to help you make profit-driven decisions at home. And the CAB Insider helps you do that.
Meet the Author
A native of Colorado, Paul Dykstra grew up on a commercial cow-calf ranch in western Colorado and later earned a degree in animal science from Colorado State University. Paul worked as a feedyard manager for the U.S. Meat Animal Research Center in Clay Center, Neb., before joining the brand’s supply development team in 2002.
As the Director of Supply Management and Analysis for the brand, Paul combines his experience and knowledge to work closely with ranchers and feedyard managers to raise Angus cattle using the best management practices to enhance profitability by producing quality beef.
READ THE LATEST INSIDERS
Greater eligibility assists CAB supply
Fed cattle prices have stabilized and improved in the later part of July, but are still lower than a year ago. With a backlog of cattle on feed longer, greater eligibility is joining up with higher quality grades to increase July certified head counts above those seen a year ago.
50-14 legislation considerations
The past couple of weeks have offered little excitement in the fed cattle trade. Consumer driven economic signals have been passed back to producers because the marketplace has been allowed to differentiate price for cattle and beef product based on quality specifications and other merits.
Outlook for heifer retention and cow numbers
Packers have proven capable of not only large weekly production but of daily headcounts on par or larger than a year ago. The turnaround in the cattle cycle and the abnormalities of 2020 will further incentivize producers to shrink the nation’s herd.