CattleUSA Daily

Lauren poses a leadership question that most producers avoid because it forces honesty. If you had to start over from absolute scratch with the same land, region, and resources, what would you build differently. This episode is not about regret. It’s about reflection, alignment, and using clarity to make smarter decisions now without needing a full reset. Lauren breaks down the most common “I’d do...

Burnout in agriculture hits different because the work doesn’t stop. The cows still need fed, the water still needs checked, and calving doesn’t care how tired you are. In this episode, Lauren and Emma get real about burnout, mental health, and the pressure of carrying too much for too long. They talk through lived experience, the “cowboy up” mentality, the danger of isolation, and practical ways...

John Campbell breaks down this week’s regional market report and then moves into two big headline conversations: the latest on Mexican screwworm control claims and a producer question that hits a nerve, should the US government control and label all foreign beef imports instead of funneling supply through the Big Four. Lauren and John talk through the upside, the risks, and the ugly reality that i...

Getting involved in the cattle industry doesn’t have to mean running for national office or stepping into a high-profile leadership role. It can start with showing up to a meeting, asking better questions, or having a real conversation at your local grocery store. In this episode, Lauren and Emma unpack what “getting involved” actually looks like, why positive discourse matters, and how producers...

Cow size has become a badge of honor in some circles, but when you strip away opinion and look strictly at biological efficiency, the numbers tell a different story. In this episode, Lauren breaks down the science behind cow size and maintenance requirements, comparing large-framed cows to moderate, high-performing cows in real-world forage-limited systems. From maintenance energy demands and repr...

Cattle markets are sitting in a tight, sideways range, and it has everyone on edge. Cash has stayed supportive, but futures continue to hesitate at key resistance levels, creating a growing disconnect that feels fragile. In this episode, Lauren is joined by Dan Gerhold and Samantha Cozza-Wright to break down what is really happening beneath the surface. From Argentina beef quotas and screwworm hea...

Snow drought conditions across the western United States are raising serious concerns for water supplies, fire season risk, and downstream impacts throughout cattle country. In this episode, Lauren is joined by Gary Lezak to break down what the Lezak Recurring Cycle is showing for the rest of winter, what to expect across the Midwest in the coming weeks, and why this summer is already shaping up t...

Strong sale barn prices, aggressive buyer demand, and a cattle inventory report that confirmed tight supplies set the tone early this week — until labor headlines out of JBS Greeley added a new layer of uncertainty. In this episode, Lauren sits down with John Campbell to break down what they’re seeing at auction barns across Kansas and Wyoming, how the inventory report is influencing buyer behavio...

Volatility has returned to the cattle market in a big way, and this episode digs into why. Lauren is joined by Dan Gerhold and Samantha Cozza-Wright to break down recent swings on the futures board, uneven cash trade, headline-driven selloffs, and how quickly sentiment can flip at these levels. They cover the impact of packer disruptions, dairy cow slaughter, beef-on-dairy supply, grain market cro...

Livestock Risk Protection has carried a bad reputation for years, often built on misinformation, outdated assumptions, and overly complicated explanations. In this episode, Lauren is joined by Samantha Cozza-Wright to break LRP down at a practical, producer-first level. From what LRP actually is to how it settles, how weights and timing work, and why flexibility is one of its biggest strengths, th...

Labor is no longer a short-term headache in agriculture. It’s a structural, generational problem that touches every segment of food production. In this episode, Lauren sits down with Marty to unpack why farms and ranches across the country are struggling to find help, how rural communities lost their pre-trained workforce, and why the labor issue can’t be solved by band-aids or waiting for someone...

Lauren sits down with Chase Markel, a PhD researcher at the University of Wyoming, to unpack one of the most overlooked efficiency drains in the beef industry: bovine congestive heart failure. From brisket disease at high elevation to subclinical heart failure in feedlot cattle, this episode breaks down what’s actually happening inside the animal, why many cases go unnoticed, and how emerging AI t...

Cold weather, light receipts, and strong prices set the tone for this episode as Lauren Moylan sits down with John Campbell for a wide-ranging conversation that blends market reality with industry tension. From stocker and feeder prices across Colorado and Kansas to cow sales that stayed surprisingly strong despite snow and cold, the cattle market continues to defy expectations. The conversation t...

Cold weather, uneven trade, and tight supplies continue to define the cattle market as the industry moves deeper into winter. In this episode, Lauren is joined by Dan Gerhold and Samantha Cozza-Wright to break down what last week’s weather disruptions actually did to cash trade, why feeder markets feel choppy, and what February demand realistically looks like. From cattle on feed data to heifer re...

There’s a phrase in ranching that sounds noble, hardworking, and respectable: the cows come first. And while the intention behind it is good, somewhere along the way it quietly turned into a belief that ranchers exist to serve their cattle. In this solo episode, Lauren challenges that mindset head-on and makes the case for something many ranchers feel but rarely say out loud. The cows are not the...

Dan Leahy breaks down what most ranch “apprenticeships” are missing: a written plan, a weekly cadence, and honest accountability. He walks through the Foundation for Ranch Management apprenticeship workbook page by page, explaining how ranches can map their annual ranch cycle, build a multi-year skill pathway, and run the entire program off a simple Friday meeting. The big theme is clarity. Appren...

Lauren sits down with Gary Lezak for a winter weather check-in as Colorado experiences one of the most extreme snow droughts on record. They break down what’s happening in the atmosphere right now, why storm systems keep missing key regions, and how the recurring weather pattern helps identify risk windows months in advance. From winter storm threats in Texas to early signals for drought and summe...

Lauren is back with John Campbell for another rapid-fire cattle industry rundown, covering what’s moving markets and what’s just loud noise. They talk sale barn tone, winter weather pressure, Canada putting a pause on new animal ID regulations, Colorado pausing wolf reintroduction after federal pushback, and the chaos sparked by Texas Ag Commissioner Sid Miller’s screwworm comments that whiplashed...

Lauren is joined by Dan Gerhold and Samantha Cozza-Wright for a candid market check-in as extreme cold weather moves across much of the country and volatility continues to define the cattle trade. They break down how headlines, winter weather, feeder demand, and packer leverage are shaping current price action, while also looking ahead to seasonal trends, grain markets, and what could matter most...

Beef doesn’t end at the rail. It ends in a box. Brianna Buseman from Marble breaks down what “pack-off” actually is, why it’s one of the most repetitive and labor-heavy parts of a beef plant, and how Marble uses conveyor systems plus computer vision to identify cuts, track product tied to plant programs, and help plants move boxed beef out the door with more consistency and less chaos. She also ge...

Lauren and Emma break down how nutrition messaging around beef went off the rails and why it still matters to cattle producers today. They talk through how past dietary guidelines and food scoring systems elevated ultra-processed foods while pushing beef to the bottom, how convenience culture and lack of food education fueled that shift, and why consumers became disconnected from protein quality a...

Lauren sits down with Gary Lezak for a grounded look at the winter weather pattern shaping conditions across the CattleUSA region. While much of the Plains has experienced an unusually warm and dry start to winter, Gary explains why this isn’t random and what the long-range cycling pattern says about what’s ahead. From snowpack and moisture concerns to late-winter cold risks and summer heat signal...

John opens with a strong market week and even stronger prices on lightweight calves, then the episode turns into a blunt reality check on Canada’s new cattle traceability rules. The core issue is not tagging cattle. It’s the expectation that producers log every movement, location, and ID detail within seven days, even in real-world ranch scenarios where premise IDs don’t exist, cattle are commingl...

Lauren challenges one of the most common phrases in agriculture: “we’re just hanging on until the kids take over.” While that mindset often comes from grit, sacrifice, and deep love for the land, this episode draws a hard line between perseverance and deferred collapse. Lauren unpacks why survival alone is not a succession plan, what the next generation is really inheriting beyond land and cattle,...

Lauren sits down with Dan and Samantha for a no-nonsense cattle market check-in as January gets underway. Cash markets are strong, grazing cattle and replacements are on fire, and futures finally made a move higher. But beneath the rally are high feedlot break-evens, questionable government data, grain market frustration, and real risks tied to packer leverage, imports, and policy decisions. This...