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Economist says contraction continues, expansion not likely anytime soon
A livestock economist says expansion in the cattle industry isn’t expected anytime soon.
University of Missouri’s Scott Brown says the latest cattle inventory report and Cattle on Feed report from the USDA indicate continued contraction. “39.2 percent of On Feed numbers were heifers,” he says. “All of that tells me we’re not holding heifers back. Just like the cattle report tells me we’re not holding younger heifers back either. So there’s nothing here to me that signals we’re doing anything but liquidating.”
He tells Brownfield while this will likely trigger higher prices, any expansion is still a long way out. “At best we’ve got to get to January 1, 2024, before to even start to consider some type of growth,” he says. “And I don’t see much incentive for that right now. So I think we’re in this mode for a period of time.”
