If Cattle is Your Business, Then You Know - Business is Good! Economist Derrell Peel Explains Why

Jun 30, 2017

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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Video: Evolution of Beef Cattle Farming

The Clear Conversations podcast took to the road for a special episode recorded in Nashville during CattleCon, bringing listeners straight into the heart of the cattle industry. Host Tracy Sellers welcomed rancher Steve Wooten of Beatty Canyon Ranch in Colorado for a wide-ranging discussion that blended family history and sustainability, particularly as it relates to the future of beef production.

Sustainability emerged as a central theme of the conversation, a word that Wooten acknowledges can mean very different things depending on who you ask. For him, sustainability starts with the soil. Healthy soil produces healthy grass, which supports efficient cattle capable of producing year after year with minimal external inputs. It’s an approach that equally considers vegetation, animal efficiency, and long-term profitability.

That philosophy aligned naturally with Wooten’s involvement in the U.S. Roundtable for Sustainable Beef, where he served as a representative for the Colorado Cattlemen’s Association. The roundtable brings together the entire beef supply chain—from producers to retailers—along with universities, NGOs, and allied industries. Its goal is not regulation, Wooten emphasized, but collaboration, shared learning, and continuous improvement.