Green Pastures Driving Cattle Market Boom

The cattle economy has seen a strong few weeks in the market. Western Livestock Auction, which has been in business for three decades, says they’ve never seen as many cattle as they did last week at the Oklahoma National Stockyards – and yet prices remain strong. This puts producers in a bit of a tricky situation, as they weigh the cost-benefits of holding onto cattle or selling them.

And those green pastures are prevalent across a large portion of the country: the latest USDA crop progress report rated national pastures at 46 percent good-to-excellent.

Related Stories
Lawmakers advance FY27 agriculture funding bill, highlighting support for rural development, school lunches, disease response, and water issues.
Dr. David Anderson says lean beef demand and lighter cow culling are still giving cull cow prices room to push higher.
The inverted Choice-Select spread is not a strong warning sign in today’s tighter, higher-quality beef market, according to new analysis from Terrain.
Based on USDA data compiled by the U.S. Meat Export Federation, pork exports increased by six percent in March compared to the previous year, while beef exports weakened overall.
RealAg Radio’s Shaun Haney joins us to discuss geopolitical trade tensions, energy market volatility, and what global shifts could mean for U.S. agriculture exports.
New data from the Illinois Farm Bureau show that farm financial conditions are stabilizing, even as debt per acre and borrowing costs continue to climb.