Latest News From Beef

Pollinators placed on international conservation organization’s Red List as endangered. Habitat loss, climate change, pesticides and disease were cited as some of the major factors in the species’ decline.

The latest Drought Monitor roughly 70% of the U.S. and cattle country are now in some level of drought.  However, producers and market analysts say this drought is much different than in the recent past. 

The initial steps have been taken in the process for Sustainable Beef LLC to construct a new beef packing facility in Nebraska. In Missouri, American Foods Group intends to break ground on its new plant in August.

The House recently passed the Lower Food and Fuels Cost Act which includes a special USDA investigator. However, there’s divide on if this is the right approach to restoring competition in the cattle market.

Drought has been a topic of conversation among ranchers for several months. Join us Wednesday, July 27, 2022 at 3 p.m. CST as we discuss drought and it's impacts on producers.

Drought impacts have accelerated sharply in the southern plains in July, with the volume of feeder cattle in Oklahoma auctions up 24% the last two weeks and the volume of cows and bulls up nearly 124%.

USDA's mid-year inventory is the smallest since 2015 with beef cow herd down 2.4%. Cattle on feed inventories unchanged from last year at 13.4 million.

Australian authorities said this week they have detected "viral fragments" of foot and mouth disease on a small number of products entering the country from Indonesia and China.

A New Mexico jury rules in favor of a cattle producer in a contract dispute with Tyson Fresh Meats, ordering the packer to pay millions in actual and punitive damages.

Join us for a conversation with cattlemen at 3 p.m. CST, Wednesday, July 27, to learn how they’re managing through the situation. 

Georgia representative David Scott says he will introduce new legislation specifically targeted to help small beef farmers and ranchers.

The Emory Livestock Auction saw 3,494 head of livestock on July 9, drawing miles of trailer lines filled with desperate sellers, thankful for a sale while prices hold relatively steady.

Current data on beef cow slaughter, combined with historical price performance of cattle markets after reaching an inventory low point, provides some insight for cattle price trends for the second half of 2022 and 2023.

America's largest food distributor has filed suit in Texas alleging the Big 4 packing companies conspired to fix prices since 2015.

U.S. beef exports topped $1 billion for the fourth month this year while setting new volume and value records. Pork exports, still below last year’s large totals, rebounded in May as shipments were the largest of 2022.

Haying ditches has unique safety concerns any year due to the highly variable sloped surfaces of ditches. Unsafe conditions can create wear and tear on equipment, damage equipment or cause injuries or even death.

Project will impact working ranches and rural communities, while quantifying the value of soil health and other ecosystem functions.

Oklahoma State University meat scientist Gretchen Mafi has studied the scientific differences between beef that comes from animals finished on a grain diet versus those animals finished on grass.

More than 45% of the contiguous US is currently in drought, with many parts of the southwest experiencing severe, extreme or exceptional drought. And no state has it worse than Texas.

On Monday the Supreme Court ruled to deny R-CALF's request to hear their lawsuit against the national beef checkoff.

The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday denied a petition by R-CALF USA for consideration of its legal challenge of the Beef Checkoff, effectively ending the case that began six years ago.

Western Legacy Development Corporation's proposed large packing plant has Rapid City, S.D., residents and city officials seeking more details on how the project may impact the region. Meeting set for Thursday in Wall.

The Senate Agriculture Committee advanced two bills aimed at making cattle markets more transparent and competitive, with Sen. Chuck Grassley declaring his "years-long beef with Big Cattle" close to being settled.

The Cattle Price Discovery and Transparency Act and Meat and Poultry Special Investigator Act are both expected to get votes ad approval from the Senate Ag Committee this week, despite expected Republican opposition.

One year ago, we shared a story about a father and son trapped after falling 70 feet into a well, and how their 3-year-old brother and farmers rescued them. The family shared their story to make others "well aware." 

Feedyards battled through the intense conditions to keep their cattle safe this week. The heat and humidity proved devastating, and estimates point to western Kansas feedlots seeing losses of 100 to 500 head per day.

With the extreme heat in cattle feeding areas there have been reports of death losses.

Baxter Black, the veterinarian turned cowboy poet, storyteller and philosopher of rural life in America, died Friday, June 10, at the age of 77.

Buster Welch holds a record of five National Cutting Horse Association Futurity Championships, and also has won four NCHA World Championship titles.

On May 27 a proposed $1.1 billion beef and bison packing plant for Rapid City, South Dakota. They have now announced the name and a new partnership.

Grocery retailer Giant Eagle alleges the nation’s large beef packing companies have exploited their market power to limit the supply of beef and raise prices in a new lawsuit filed in Chicago on Wednesday.

According to the Office of the USTR, the safeguard will allow U.S. exporters to meet Japan’s growing demand for high-quality beef while minimizing the odds that Japan will increase tariffs.

The small village of Cooperstown is arguably the most important place to travel for fans of one sport. How did it become such a draw? It all goes back to one man’s cow pasture...

Agricultural workers who spend significant time outdoors are at great risk for exposure to ticks. Ticks are considered vectors since they carry diseases that they transmit to other organisms.

An 8,000-head per day state-of-the-art beef processing facility utilizing robotics and other high-tech features was announced in Rapid City last week. Groundbreaking would be as early as next year.

The city of Amarillo has approved incentives to encourage Producer Owned Beef, LLC, to locate their proposed new packing facility at a site in the Texas city near I-40.

Memorial Day weekend is known as the unofficial kickoff to grilling season. Even with the push to more plant-based proteins, meat is still in high demand. Millennials are one of the largest groups of meat eaters.

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 10th District rejected claims that two working groups formed to discuss radio frequency identification violated the Federal Advisory Committee Act.

Law enforcement agents traveled to a rural and sparsely populated West Texas county on Friday to arrest the county judge, a former sheriff’s deputy and two ranch hands for cattle rustling.

Gas prices are above $4 a gallon in every state for the first time ever, and with the average price of gasoline posting another new record Thursday, it’s causing shoppers to alter their appetites at the grocery store.

American ranchers face a dry start to the summer grazing season as about half of the nation's beef cows reside under some designation of drought. Texas shows 76% of pastures in poor to very poor condition.

Texas A&M AgriLife elevates the barbecue industry through meat science teaching, research and outreach.

The House Select Committee on the Coronavirus Crisis alleges meat packers pressed “baseless” claims of beef and pork shortages early in the pandemic to persuade the Trump Administration to keep operations running.

Back-to-back blizzards in April meant the Veeders battled Mother Nature at the height of calving season. While they did everything they could to save newborn calves, they also saw relief in the form of vital moisture.

Opponents of American Foods Group's proposed Missouri packing plant have appealed the conditional permit granted for the facility and a hearing is scheduled for later this month.

Texas A&M AgriLife Research scientists have tested a technology to make temporary genetic modifications in mosquitoes that may reduce risks associated with invasive genetic elements.

Gross incomes for both cattle and hog producers were up double digits from 2020 to 2021, according to a recent report from USDA's National Agricultural Statistics Service.

These goals and targets aim to identify and supplement sustainability practices and support the collection of benchmarking data for current industry sustainability efforts.

Sen. John Boozman (R-Ark.), ranking panel member reveals he had ‘spirited conversations’ and 'unsuccessfully attempted to secure the expert opinion of the Office of the Chief Economist on S 4030.'

Prior to testimony at the House Agriculture Subcommittee on Wednesday, Tyson Foods Inc. President and CEO Donnie King released a statement to give his perspective about cattle and beef market practices.