WICHITA, Kan. (AP) Record high cattle prices and plentiful feed supplies are making life a lot easier for cattle producers as another winter nears.
It has been a good year out in farm country as the long drought eased somewhat with summer rains. Fall crops have been good, and hay prices have come down some
Market analyst Kevin Good of CattleFax tracks the industry. He says that for 15 of 17 years, the size of the nation’s cattle herd has shrunk. Producers are now rebuilding.
He says ranchers aren’t “gouging” consumers and that people need to understand that it has been “a long haul” for the cattle producer.
Calf prices are running 40 percent higher this year. Prices for fed cattle are up 23 percent, while retail beef prices are up 14 percent.
