BOISE, Idaho (RFD-TV) — Strong cattle prices are providing some relief for producers, but rising input costs continue to strain farm budgets.
Idaho Cattle Association’s Cameron Mulrony says that while cattle producers are benefiting from higher prices, their profit margins do not stretch as far as they once did.
“That margin for the cow-calf guy not too long ago was the same margin they were using in the 80s. That margin of $80-$90 a head, which it’s been a little better this year and last year, but if we go back not that far, that margin doesn’t spend the same in 2023 as it did in 1983.”
Mulrony says diesel is one of the biggest expenses facing cattle producers, affecting everything from forage production to transportation.
“For us, forage production and harvest in order to winter these cattle, it all takes diesel. Fertilizer costs are tied to the cost of diesel. Trucking, we do transport our cattle, from high country and then down here into the valleys for the winter months. I think the best answer for agriculture from a political standpoint is $2 diesel. If we can get $2 diesel, it’s going to impact every American to a benefit.”
Until input costs come under control, Mulrony says cattle producers will need current high market prices to remain profitable.
