Released March 8, 2010
MANHATTAN, Kan. – With recent downsizing in the U.S. cattle industry linked to a lack of profitability, agricultural economist Glynn Tonsor encouraged beef producers to heed recent data indicating why demand has softened and how it might be improved.
“The weak U.S. economy has hurt beef demand over recent quarters,” said Tonsor, who spoke March 5 at Kansas State University’s 2010 Cattlemen’s Day. Tonsor is currently on faculty at Michigan State University, but will join K-State’s faculty in April.
He cited recent U.S. Department of Agriculture data that showed the number of cattle and calves on feed destined for slaughter totaled 10.989 million head, as of Feb. 1, 2010. That was 2.6 percent below the Feb. 1, 2009, count and the lowest number in seven years. In addition, placements of cattle into feedlots during January totaled 1.83 million, 2 percent below 2009’s. And, marketings of fed cattle during January totaled 1.77 million, 2 percent above the previous year’s but the third lowest fed cattle marketings for January since such USDA began keeping such data in 1996.
--continued on Kansas State University Extension news
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