E214: Cattle Markets Rebound after August Slump

In the aftermath of an August crash in the cattle markets, producers across the country are kicking themselves over the missed opportunity to lock in sales at record prices. But since the dog days of summer, markets are looking up, and prices have regained much of their lost value in the weeks since. DTN Livestock Analyst ShayLe Stewart joins us today to talk us through the last eight weeks, pointing out key features of the feeder and cash cattle markets as she encourages hesitant producers to invest in price protection at current, historically high prices. Then we’ll dig into the fundamentals, talking about the outlook for herd size and the state of the bred cattle market. ShayLe offers insight further up the supply chain as well, looking to slaughter pace and carcass weight figures to shed light on what’s going on with packers and what that might mean for consumer and export demand as winter approaches. We’ll talk through the winter feed outlook, check in on the bird flu story, and hear the latest from ShayLe’s Wyoming ranch.