June represents the beginning of summer for many. As May comes to a close, it’s appropriate to note two important distinctions about the month. May is both Beef Month, and Mental Health Awareness Month. May 2020 saw farmer mental health talked about more openly than any time in the past. On-farm stress is arguably at its highest levels since the 1980s. Livestock producers are dealing with cattle and hogs reaching market weight, not knowing for sure what packing capacity will be. While capacity continues to improve, there are plants challenged by outbreaks. (An outbreak has been defined as 10 percent of a workforce testing positive for COVID-19.) Sows continue to farrow and farmers aren’t sure if existing customers will be able to take feeder pigs and cow/calf operators are wondering what demand will be for their feeder cattle in the months ahead. Young people on the farm are feeling stress, too, whether it’s from things happening directly on the farm, fairs cancelling, or feeling isolated from school friends.
Beef month 2020 looked different than years past. Closed restaurants, turbulent futures markets, packing plant shutdowns and lower cash prices added to uncertainty on the farm. There are reasons for hope. Consumers are still buying red meat, cutout values have come down to levels more conducive to retailers buying larger quantities, and supply channels are getting closer to filling all orders. The weather has been good for kicking off the grilling season, at least compared to last year’s frustrating cold, wet spring. Sterling Marketing of Vale, Oregon has released information saying they believe the backlog of fed cattle is not as large as past estimates. There is more uncertainty and uncharted waters ahead, but we can look forward to the smell of neighborhood grills as a sign of continued demand for meat protein as Americans begin spending more time outdoors, and a supply chain, from farm to consumer, providing the quality protein consumers expect.
According to the USDA Actual Slaughter Under Federal Inspection report, 519,123 cattle and 2,133,607 hogs were harvested during the week ending May 16. That compared to 475,683 cattle and 1,803,664 hogs the week ending May 9. Dairy breed cow harvest was 56,030 head compared to 56,765 head the week prior. Sow harvest was 69,753 and accounted for 3.3 percent of all swine harvested.
Export sales of US agricultural commodities were reported as 473,700 metric tons of corn and 847,300 metric tons of soybeans for May 21 through May 28. There were additional overnight sales Thursday (May 28) of 132,000 metric tons of soybeans and 101,600 metric tons of corn. Beef sales were higher than in recent weeks at 11,500 metric tons. Pork sales to foreign buyers totaled 20,600 metric tons. Mexico was the leading buyer of US raised pork, purchasing 9,000 metric tons of the total.
Cash cattle throughout the country were called mostly steady this week. Wisconsin auction markets saw beef breed fed cattle mostly steady with high-yielding lots bringing $110.00 to$ 116.50/cwt. Dairy breed steers were steady to $1.00 higher with the higher quality lots bringing $81.00 to $86.00/cwt. Dairy breed cows had a weaker undertone with the bulk falling in the $45.00 to $51.00/cwt range. Dairy breed calves were steady to stronger with the healthiest, heavier calves selling for $75.00 to $160.00/head
Keep watching for details of the $50 million direct payment to farmers announced by Governor Evers last week. You can sign up to receive updates on the DATCP websites, as well as information about the $15 million dollars to help with supply chain and food insecurity efforts.
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