Latest news with #TomPolansek
Yahoo
07-08-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
US cattle ranchers slowly start to rebuild decimated herd
By Tom Polansek August 7 (Reuters) -Nebraska cattle rancher Craig Uden bought 200 extra mother cows and their babies over a few weeks in May to expand his herd as dry weather gave way to rain that rejuvenated land used for grazing. In South Dakota, Troy Hadrick kept 16 more young female cows, known as heifers, on his farm than he did last year to be used for breeding, rather than sending them to be slaughtered for beef. More than 1,400 miles south in Texas, the biggest cattle-producing state, Fausto Salinas was also preserving heifers to increase his herd. In major U.S. livestock regions, some ranchers have slowly begun taking the first steps to boost cattle production after the nation's inventory shrank due to a years-long drought that dried up pasture land used for grazing and hiked feeding costs. By the beginning of the year, the herd had dwindled to 86.7 million cattle, the smallest number for the time period since 1951, according to U.S. government data. When grass failed to grow on pasture land that turned from green to brown and as feed grains became too expensive, ranchers began to ship off more cattle to be slaughtered. Some producers searched miles away for hay to nourish their remaining animals. The drop in supply drove U.S. food companies to increasingly import beef from other countries, including Australia and Brazil. Though in its early stages, the herd expansion is now a sign of hope for consumers shelling out for expensive steaks and for meatpackers losing money buying high-priced cattle to slaughter. "Cattle availability should improve in coming years," Tyson Foods CEO Donnie King said during an earnings call this week. Farmers' cautious plans to rebuild mark a turning point after a continuous downsizing of the herd for six years in a row pushed beef prices to record highs in 2025. Cattle prices reached records too, slashing the profits of processors like Tyson and providing income for farmers who also grow grains and have struggled to turn a profit from selling crops. Cattle production is the nation's most important agricultural industry, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, which said the sector consistently accounts for the largest share of total cash receipts for farm commodities. After delays due to persistent dryness, improved rains are motivating the expansion, along with expectations that cattle prices will remain lofty during the long rebuilding process, ranchers said. In Nebraska, the second biggest cattle-producing state, the portion of the herd in areas suffering from drought dropped to 19% in late July from 79% two years earlier, according to the U.S. Drought Monitor. Near Cozad, a city of 4,000 people where Uden works with his son-in-law, rains have not quit since starting around Mother's Day in May, Uden said. Grass conditions look the best since 2011, he added. The dramatic improvement comes as a record U.S. corn harvest is expected to boost available feed supplies. "Everything has kind of fallen into place," said Uden, 64. "The cattle will have plenty to eat this year." Ranches in South Texas also benefited from one of the greenest summers in years, a welcome reprieve after the punishing drought turned forage brown and dry and killed some cattle. "Right now, we're in the process of rebuilding," said Salinas, a rancher in Rio Grande City, Texas, who sold cattle during the drought. TIGHTER SUPPLIES When ranchers retain heifers, beef production temporarily slows because the animals are not being sent to be slaughtered; it will also likely push meat prices even higher before they come down, agricultural economists said. Consumers have shown resilience to the climbing cost of beef, but increased prices will test demand, they said. It takes about two years before beef output rises after ranchers make initial moves to expand because that is how long it takes to raise full-grown cattle, ranchers said. U.S. cattle and beef supplies are set to decline even further after President Donald Trump's administration halted imports of Mexican livestock in July to keep out New World screwworm, a devastating pest. U.S. beef imports from Brazil, a key supplier of meat used to make hamburgers, are also expected to fall after Trump imposed a 50% trade tariff on Wednesday. MEATPACKERS LOSE BIG Beef producers such as Tyson and Cargill have waited years for ranchers to begin rebuilding herds because companies must increasingly compete with one another to buy limited supplies. Processors were losing about $300 on each head of cattle they slaughtered on Tuesday, according to livestock marketing advisory service Farmers have worried a processor may shutter a beef plant due to hefty losses, though Cargill told Reuters it had no plans to do so. "It's not overwhelmingly glaring that, 'Hey we're starting to rebuild the cow herd,' but I think there are quite a few signals," said Jarrod Gillig, senior vice president of Cargill's North American beef business. For one, strong prices for heifers at a major video livestock sale in July signaled the animals will be retained on farms, Gillig said. In rural feedlots, about 4.2 million heifers were being fattened for slaughter as of July 1, down 5% from 2024, according to USDA data. The decline likely reflects that ranchers are keeping at least a few more heifers on farms to reproduce, analysts said. Tyson said a 16% drop in beef cow slaughtering from January to June was another early indicator of ranchers retaining heifers on their farms. The meatpacker reported cattle costs climbed by about $560 million in the quarter that ended on June 28, compared to a year earlier. Herd rebuilding will begin in earnest next year, and the beef business will see benefits in 2028, King said. DIFFICULT DECISION Ranchers who retain heifers must make a difficult decision to forgo immediate profits from selling cattle for slaughter in a bet that prices will stay high. Many are cautious about passing up the opportunity because they remember when prices tanked following a rapid production increase in 2014. High interest rates also discourage farmers from expanding operations. Hadrick, 49, said he would have liked to hold back more than 16 cows at his farm in Faulkton, South Dakota, but he was spooked by a lack of moisture earlier this year. High cattle prices encouraged him to expand a bit now that his son has returned home from college and provides extra help. "The market's screaming for more cattle," Hadrick said. "We're dipping our toe in." Sign in to access your portfolio
Mint
14-07-2025
- Business
- Mint
CME cattle futures backpedal from strong rallies
CHICAGO, July 14 (Reuters) - Chicago Mercantile Exchange live cattle and feeder futures tumbled on Monday in a technical setback from lofty prices, traders said. The markets surged last week as cash prices jumped more than many traders expected and Washington again halted imports of cattle from Mexico, limiting supplies. Consumer demand for beef has largely remained strong this year, even as tight U.S. cattle inventories have reduced production and pushed prices to records. Futures took a breather after rallying Friday, traders said. CME August live cattle futures closed down 2.85 cents at 219.35 cents per pound after jumping 3.8% last week. August feeder cattle sank 5.85 cents to end at 319.475 cents per pound. The contract soared 5% last week, as analysts said that cash prices increased by $4 to $8 per hundredweight. The U.S. Department of Agriculture said on Wednesday that it would immediately block cattle imports from Mexico due to the spread of New World screwworm, a devastating livestock pest, after starting to resume imports days earlier. Some producers typically import Mexican cattle to fatten in U.S. feedlots and slaughter in U.S. processing plants. Beef processors saw profit margins turn negative as they paid higher prices for cattle while beef prices declined. Meatpackers were losing $43.20 for each head of cattle they processed on Monday, compared to profits of $73.95 a week ago, said. U.S. wholesale boxed beef prices remained under pressure after sliding late last week. Choice cuts fell by $1.57 to $377.07 per hundredweight (cwt), according to USDA data. For pork, the wholesale U.S. carcass cutout price edged up $0.38 to $113.85 per cwt, the USDA said. Prices surged for pork bellies and sank for butts. CME August lean hogs ended 1.45 cents lower at 103.225 cents per pound. Meatpackers slaughtered an estimated 477,000 hogs, compared to 478,000 hogs a week ago and 474,933 hogs a year ago, according to the USDA. Packers slaughtered an estimated 112,000 cattle, down from 114,000 cattle a week ago and 117,427 cattle a year ago, as inventories are low. (Reporting by Tom Polansek in Chicago; Editing by Mohammed Safi Shamsi)
Yahoo
10-07-2025
- General
- Yahoo
US again halts cattle imports from Mexico over screwworm pest
By Tom Polansek CHICAGO (Reuters) -The U.S. Department of Agriculture has again halted imports of Mexican cattle into the United States due to the spread of the damaging livestock pest New World Screwworm in Mexico. Screwworms are parasitic flies whose females lay eggs in wounds on warm-blooded animals, usually livestock and wild animals. Once the eggs hatch, hundreds of screwworm larvae use their sharp mouths to burrow through living flesh, eventually killing their host if left untreated. The USDA said in a statement late on Wednesday that it ordered the closure of livestock trade through southern ports of entry effective immediately following the detection of screwworm about 370 miles south of the border in Ixhuatlan de Madero, Veracruz. The decision was a quick reversal after the USDA said last week it would resume cattle imports from Mexico on Monday at a port of entry in Douglas, Arizona, as part of a phased reopening of the border. Washington suspended cattle imports from Mexico in May as New World Screwworm was detected in farms in Oaxaca and Veracruz, Mexico, about 700 miles from the U.S. border. "We must see additional progress combatting NWS in Veracruz and other nearby Mexican states in order to reopen livestock ports along the Southern border,' USDA Secretary Brooke Rollins said in a statement.
Hindustan Times
07-07-2025
- Business
- Hindustan Times
CME feeder cattle reach new high on limited US supply
By Tom Polansek CME feeder cattle reach new high on limited US supply CHICAGO, - Chicago Mercantile Exchange feeder cattle futures reached new highs on Monday, while live cattle finished stronger on concerns over limited U.S. supplies, analysts said. Although Washington began to resume cattle imports from Mexico, inventories remain tight and demand for beef from consumers is solid, they said. CME August feeder cattle futures finished up 4.225 cents at 313.725 cents per pound. August live cattle ended 1.85 cents higher at 215.900 cents per pound. Futures prices looked low compared with cash prices that traded last week, a trader said. CME feeder cattle also got a boost from declining prices for corn used for livestock feed, analysts added. The U.S. Department of Agriculture said last week it would resume cattle imports from Mexico at a port of entry in Douglas, Arizona, on Monday as part of a phased reopening of the border. The agency suspended imports in May due to spread of the damaging livestock pest New World screwworm in Mexico. The decision to resume trade at the Douglas port will ease economic pain for some cattle producers who depend on imports from Mexico for their business, said Colin Woodall, CEO of the National Cattlemen's Beef Association. Other cattle groups opposed the reopening and warned that it increases the risk for screwworm to enter the United States. Mexico's government said it has started to build a $51 million facility in the country's south as part of an effort to combat screwworm. It is slated to be completed in the first half of 2026. In the pork market, CME August lean hogs ended up 1 cent at 107.100 cents per pound, after falling earlier to their lowest level in more than a month. This article was generated from an automated news agency feed without modifications to text.
Yahoo
12-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
ADM sets off 'frenzy' in US soybean market ahead of new biofuel blend rule
By Tom Polansek and Karl Plume CHICAGO (Reuters) -Archer-Daniels-Midland, a major U.S. soybean crusher and biofuel producer, slashed its bids to buy the oilseed this week ahead of an expected Trump administration announcement on biofuel blending requirements, a primary driver of demand for soybean oil. Processors such as Chicago-based ADM have been waiting for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's decision on blending requirements for months as they grapple with slumping crush margins and abundant soybean stocks. Reuters reported on Thursday that the EPA is expected to propose blending requirements below industry recommendations on Friday, leading to lower-than-expected demand for soyoil to be used in biofuels. ADM said in an emailed statement to Reuters on Thursday that it does not have insight around the pending blending announcement beyond publicly available information and that it independently sets its basis bids, which is the difference between futures and a local cash price to take possession of the grain immediately. The company on Wednesday rolled its cash basis bid at its flagship Decatur, Illinois, facility to 20 cents below the Chicago Board of Trade November soybean futures price from 22 cents over July futures. The roll to November futures, which closed at a 15-cent discount to July on Thursday, lowered the local cash price by about 60 cents a bushel, representing an unusually sharp 6.5% drop in the price offered to farmers. ADM also rolled basis bids at its other crushing facilities, and some rival processors, including Cargill, followed ADM on Thursday. Other processors kept their basis bids against the July futures contract, but lowered basis values by up to 15 cents. "ADM Decatur put the bean market in a frenzy," agriculture trading company John Stewart and Associates said in a note. Falling basis values reflect expectations for a large autumn harvest and weak demand that has eroded processing margins for companies that crush beans into soymeal livestock feed and soyoil used for cooking and producing biofuels. Crush margins have struggled as a recent jump in U.S. processing capacity has swelled available supplies of meal and oil and pressured prices for the soy products. Tariff worries and unclear U.S. biofuels policies have stoked further unease among crushers and biofuel makers, and some biodiesel producers have scaled back or idled plants. ADM said in April it would permanently close a South Carolina soybean processing plant to cut costs. "Cash crush margins stink, and there is a bunch of downtime scheduled for July," said Charlie Sernatinger, executive vice president for Marex Capital Markets. Diana Klemme, vice president of Grain Service Corp in Atlanta, which serves agricultural hedgers in the futures markets, sent an alert to customers after seeing ADM's bid adjustments. She said that she had never seen a move to new-crop basis levels in June in more than 50 years in the grain business. "I said check your markets carefully because ADM just dropped all their bids 40-75 cents a bushel and went to new-crop values," Klemme said. The November futures contract represents the autumn harvest price, or the new crop. Farmers have been reluctant to sell crops to processors because they want higher prices, while processors avoided raising bids to protect their thin margins.
