Market Update

Let’s do a quick market report on the 10-year cattle cycle. We are going to see an incredible year to market. Calves should bring an all-time high. Bred cattle should bring an all-time high. In the seedstock world, we sold more cattle for a higher average than we did in 2014 and 2015-the sweet years in that 10-year cycle. We are headed right into another sweet spot.

I would imagine that we will continue to see a hot market during the summer. We might see a little bit of a Summer slow-down, a Summer low, but overall, they will be right back up where they are now.

We locked in our cattle. We bought some LRP’s on some of our yearlings. We locked in 800lb yearlings at 227.5, which is the floor. So that means no matter where the market falls, that is the bottom dollar that we would receive for those cattle, but we left it open at the top.

If you guys have questions about LRP’s, let me know on our socials! Drop us a message, and I will answer your questions. It has been quite the journey for us to buy some security and insurance on our cattle. It allows us to sleep a little better at night, and it allows us to make better financial decisions, knowing what those cattle are going to bring.

People always ask me when I recommend that they start to sell their feeder calves. I think it is a little early for Fall cattle delivery yet. We will start to see some cattle traded in June, but most of the trade will happen July and August. I expect us to have HOT fall. I potentially see the market continuing to trend up, which is typically not the case because we’re looking at supply and demand. I do not think any of us will lose marketing calves. I think there is a lot of opportunity for all of us.

Things I’m concerned about

It seems that when the market gets hot, we have cattle buyers that forget to send contracts, don’t pay enough down on down-payments, things like that. You need to cross your t’s and dot your i's even more in a hot market. You may need to ask for more of a down payment. You need to really trust who you are doing business with because everyone can seem good in a year like this. I would expect bred cattle to bring a good amount this Fall, unless we have a back-swan event. There is no predicting that, so I am not going to speculate.

Next week is a holiday week which will affect cattle slaughter. So that will change a little bit of the market because we will lose one day in slaughter opportunities.

Overall, there is a lot of optimism and a lot of opportunity to make money on calves. It’s going to look better than years passed. Let’s take advantage of the good market. Let’s be smart how we sell our cattle. Let’s pick the right time and a price that we are comfortable with and then seal the deal.

If you have any questions, don’t hesitate to reach out and ask. I would be happy to answer them

Email me at karoline@krosecompany.com or send me a message on our socials!