After a year of challenges, highlighted by the worst drought in more than a halfcentury, the U.S. red meat (beef, pork and lamb) industry is focusing on 2013 as a year of great opportunities to increase the value those agricultural exports bring to exporters, processors, producers and the broad American agricultural industry that supports them.

Cash fed cattle trade struggled last week as signals of disappointing consumer demand and unsupported futures levels eroded prices both buyers and sellers could agree on.

The most recent World Agricultural Supply and Demand Estimates (WASDE) report was issued by USDA on Friday, Jan 11. The report showed several good things for beef, such as increased production estimates and reduced import projections, and also a number of surprising things for corn.

TX, beef processing facility effective at the close of business Friday, Feb.1, 2013, resulting primarily from the tight cattle supply brought about by years of drought in Texas and Southern Plains states. Approximately 2,000 people work at the Plainview facility, and they will receive company support.

Thursday, Jan. 3, saw the most recent Oxford Farming Conference where journalist, environmental activist, and now ex-anti-GM agitator, Mark Lynas described in no uncertain terms how he came to support GM technology and why others should, too. In his 51-minute speech, he apologized for his past activities and urged others to accept GM technology.

The U.S. Congress worked overtime over the New Year’s holiday to pass the American Taxpayer Relief Act of 2012 and it was signed into law by President Obama.

Buford noted that 2012 didn’t differ much in what drove sellers and potential buyers—the same economic and environmental pressures and political uncertainties existed—but that there was a lot more buyer confidence in 2012 than in 2011.

In last week’s short New Year’s week, cash trade was slow to develop despite the pressure on packers to buy for their first full-production week in a while. Showlists were overall larger across the country with Kansas being the only major cattle-feeding state to see smaller showlists.

The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) finished 2012 by signing off on a massive pipeline project that will carry water from rural counties along the Nevada-Utah line to thirsty Las Vegas. The controversial 263-mile water tube will stretch from rural areas to urban Las Vegas, home to 2 million people.

The Christmas holiday disrupted cattle markets all around last week. Production was expected to be down, so the urge to buy fed cattle was low on that front. On the other side, however, the fact packers are running out of contract cattle put some pressure on them to buy negotiated fed cattle.