This year, the US beef business started off strong with good demand, and thus far has managed to sustain that momentum, beyond expectations, even surviving the traditional seasonal peaks. And those in the cattle business are quite happy about this continuing trend, something Oklahoma State University Extension Livestock Market Economist Dr. Derrell Peel told Ron Hays, Radio Oklahoma Ag Network farm director, almost never happens.
“That’s very rare in this industry with all the dynamics that are typical of this industry, for everybody to be making money at the same time,” Peel said. “But, it really is a testament to what happens when you have good demand pulling the whole system along.”
Peel has observed market signals and indicators from all different segments of the market recently that point to strong consumer demand, from boxed beef values to retail prices and even spill over demand for pork and poultry, seemingly immune to the effects of the large, growing supply of those meats. But it is the influence of recent trade activity that Peel credits as the lynchpin to this sustained demand.
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