Happy Memorial Day to all our readership, advertisers and supporters! It’s been a great spring for marketing cattle with so many variables pushing the needle forward. Beef demand is holding strong thus far and although economic pressure indicates we should see a shift in product preference, the industry hasn’t seen it yet. What we have seen is lighter carcass weights indicated by both winter stress and the pull-through demand from being down 2.7% so far this year on weekly kill data.
The next few months will be worth paying attention to as the summer video sales kick off and some of the nation’s most prestigious cattle producers contract their calves. We’ve already seen some record highs in some of the earlier sales highlighted across the nation, including a kickoff event held by Western Video Market in early May. Superior Livestock will be in Council Bluffs, IA, for their Corn Belt Classic Video Auction in mid-June and we will see a good indication of the next months of yearling and calf marketing.
A simple matter of fact is these cattle need to sell higher. Inputs have followed suit, with economic pressures pushing inputs higher and higher. Increased moisture in the West and North will lighten the burden on hay costs somewhat, but a higher-than-normal death loss in the calf crop this year with an already lower cowherd inventory will tighten supplies even further. Demand economics will keep many of us in business this year.
Let’s face it—it hasn’t been easy the last few years. We can deflect everything as best as we want to. It’s a cowboy’s nature to stay positive and reinvest and drive on. The hard winter days experienced by many of those reading this column were trying. Trust me, I’m right there with you on that. Some cattle saw too much weather. My own herd saw more death loss this spring than I’ve ever seen. I’m proud of my vaccination program, but calves simply dealt with so much from the moment they were born. And I won’t even put pen to paper to talk about input costs or interest rates.
I’m actually an optimist, contrary to the previous paragraph. Here’s why: springtime. I am friends with a lot of you on social media and right now my feed is filled with branding pictures and turnout. It’s a great time of year. Marking cattle with storied brands, setting up the vaccination programs and sending cattle to grass is happening across the country. It’s long days, but so rewarding. Cattlemen and women gather to help each other, work together and push the western lifestyle forward. Branding traps are built, horses are legged up and fences are mended, ready for summertime to be here. I’m not sure who’s more ready to go to summer grass—the cattlemen or the cattle; we’re simply all anxious and trailing cattle to summer pastures is a cowboy’s gift.
Recently, Newsweek came out with survey results where they asked 1,500 eligible U.S. voters about their preference on meat. The results showed that 81% of those surveyed claimed to eat meat at least once per week while only 3% said they never eat meat. A total of 76% of respondents claimed they either “strongly agreed” or “agreed” with a statement that meat is healthy to eat, while only 1% “strongly disagreed.”
I think it’s safe to say that the 3% and 1% from the above results would fall under the far-left population and many media outlets. The constant messaging that beef is bad for the environment and unhealthy is tiresome, and I feel the cliché about beating a dead horse applies here. But when a liberal outlet must report the overwhelming majority still consume meat at least once a week, it is reason to proudly grill a big steak on Memorial Day. I’m a fifth-generation cattle producer and I’m extremely proud of it. My daughters take pride in knowing they will be the sixth. In fact, when we branched away from the family operation to pursue this dream with WLJ, we applied for and received my great-grandfather and grandfather’s shared brand. My cattle carry it today.
I’m proud of my heritage and I’m proud of the cattle I raise and what we do on our small operation for the environment. You should be proud of what you do as well. As cattlemen, we’ll celebrate those who perished in battle to keep this country free because not only did they sacrifice their life, but their families had to deal with the immediate loss too. We will remember them all and proudly represent them each and every day.
We wish all our WLJ family a great holiday weekend as the grilling season has officially kicked off for 2023! — LOGAN IPSEN
