The Cattle Business Weekly

  For a young woman who has worked with cattle all her life, one moment was all it took to take her from a simple check on a momma cow to ending up in the hospital with multiple injuries. With grit, determination, and inspiration, she’s back on the farm, doing what she loves.  “February 25 was just a typical day. I checked on a cow who’d had her baby,” Jamie Hart, 35, of Frederick said. “She’s bee...

  For many cow-calf operations in the region, significant culling may be required to match cow numbers to the forage available, not only for 2026, but also for the next few years. For operations that have spent generations building the type of cow they want, there is a strong commitment to retain a core of foundation females from which to rebuild the herd when it rains again.  This article covers...

  Through the first half of the year, year -to- date cattle slaughter is 8.7% lower than last year, and placements have been higher this year compared to last year. These two stats provide information about current and future beef production. Another insightful/helpful stat is dressed weight. As supplies have become lower in the last 2 years, dressed weights have increased to help offset the lower...

Shrinking margins, declining grain prices, and growing financial pressure have defined recent years for crop producers. But while agricultural economist David Widmar doesn’t believe those challenges are over, he also doesn’t think the outlook is as bleak as many producers may believe. Speaking at the recent South Dakota Governor’s Ag Summit, Widmar says he sees several demand drivers beginning to...

June 2026 featured several widespread heavy rain events across the Northern Plains, with some communities receiving more than a month's worth of rain in just a day or two. Oglala, South Dakota, received almost 7 inches of rain on June 2-3. In north-central Nebraska, multiple June events reported 4-6 inches of rain, but the occurrences were isolated and not widespread. North Dakota was somewha...

The challenges facing row-crop agriculture aren’t likely to disappear with the next policy announcement or another round of government assistance, according to agricultural economist David Widmar who spoke at last week’s South Dakota Governor’s Ag Summit in Pierre, South Dakota. Instead, Widmar, who is part of Ag Economic Insights, says equal doses of reality and optimism will be needed for the lo...

  When Grey Zabel talks about farming, he lights up much the same way one would expect him to when talking about his first Super Bowl Championship win. Zabel, an NFL football player with the Seattle Seahawks, was back in his hometown of Pierre, South Dakota, on June 25, speaking at the South Dakota Governor’s Ag Summit. Zabel’s family farm is near Selby, South Dakota, and he spent hours there as a...

A lot has been said about beef prices in 2026, and there has been a lot of productive discussion about what is driving them. Some point to historically tight cattle supplies. U.S. cattle inventories are at their lowest since the 1950s, and federally inspected cattle slaughter through May is 1.12 million head below the same period in 2025 and 2.56 million head below 2022, the cyclical peak for the...

  The South Dakota Cattlemen’s Foundation was thrilled to donate 2,620 to Feeding South Dakota during the 13th Annual Prime Time Gala held on June 20 in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. Held annually, this brings the fundraiser’s total donation to Feeding South Dakota to ,319,275 over the last 13 years. The funding has made it possible for Feeding South Dakota to purchase beef for South Dakotans who are...

  By Codi Vallery-Mills It was a packed house on June 20 at the St. Onge Livestock Auction barn as people filled the stands and the tent outside to watch the World Livestock Auctioneer Championship. Thirty-one men from throughout the United States and Canada took part in a two-day competition that critiqued them on their ability to interview and be a spokesperson for the livestock marketing indust...

The Livestock Marketeers hosted their 61st annual Hall of Fame banquet on May 27. This years’ event was hosted by the American Angus Association in St. Joseph, Missouri. The 2026 inductees were Bill Bowman, St. Joseph, Missouri and Delvin Heldermon, Sulphur, Oklahoma. Bill Bowman was born and raised in Stet, Missouri and graduated from high school in 1975. He received a BS in Animal Science from t...

  The Cattlemen’s Ball of Nebraska is an enormous undertaking. It requires 100 committee members, 500 volunteers, and a ranch location for the event. And yet for 28 years, Nebraskans have pulled together and pulled it off. In early June, this year’s event was held at the Howard and Linda Benjamin Ranch near Cozad, Nebraska. The Benjamins co-hosted with neighbors Levi and Bobbie Jo Messersmith. The...

In May, the Purdue University-CME Group Ag Economy Barometer (AEB) Index survey asked farmers to identify the main factor limiting improvement in their farm’s financial situation. High input costs were by far the most frequently cited constraint, selected by 46% of respondents. Weather risk ranked second at 19%, followed by low output prices at 14%, labor and equipment concerns at 9%, and debt or...

The Beef Improvement Federation (BIF) recognized Colyer Herefords and Angus, Bruneau, Idaho, as the 2026 BIF Seedstock Producer of the Year on June 3 during the group’s annual research symposium in Boise, Idaho. This national award recognizes a producer’s dedication to improving the beef industry at the seedstock level. Rooted in Bruneau, Idaho, since 1876, Colyer Herefords and Angus represents a...

Updated: June 15, 2026– The USDA has confirmed 12 total cases of New World Screwworm in the United States. 11 cases in cattle, sheep and goats in Texas and one case in a dog in New Mexico. Updated: June 10, 2026 — The USDA has confirmed 6 total cases of New World Screwworm in the United States. 4 cases in cattle in Texas, 1 goat in Texas and a case in a dog in New Mexico. Texas now has two cases o...

A new case of New World Screwworm has been detected in a young, 1 month old calf in Zavala County, Texas, 5.6 miles from the first positive case of screwworm in Texas, which the USDA confirmed on Wednesday. The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) and its Texas partners continue to collect and test other samples from the surrounding area which...

  Updated June 4, 9 a.m. The U.S. Department of Agriculture on Wednesday confirmed the country’s first case of New World screwworm — the parasitic fly poised to harm the state’s billion cattle industry — in South Texas. The USDA tested a sample from La Pryor in Zavala County at the USDA’s National Veterinary Services Laboratories in Ames, lowa, confirming the infestation, Secretary Brooke Rollins...

  Have you wondered how virtual fencing might work on your operation, but want to see it in action before making a decision? A two-day bus tour on June 16–17 will give cattle producers the opportunity to evaluate virtual fencing systems in real-world settings. Virtual fencing (VF) has the potential to reduce labor associated with fencing and cattle movement while improving control over grazing dis...

  More is needed for drought-stricken areas CBW News Desk Precipitation was seen across the region the middle of May but it was characterized by severe thunderstorms and pronounced moisture disparities, according to the UNL Drought Monitor. Between May 17 and 18, a powerful frontal system traversing the central United States triggered widespread severe weather across the Great Plains and Midwest....

As of early May, just over half of the U.S. is facing some level of drought, and 36 percent is in severe or worse drought conditions. For ranchers, that reality translates into stress, uncertainty, and some of the hardest decisions they will ever make about land, cattle, and family operations. To help ranch families think through those choices, Good Grazing Make Cent$ is hosting a free virtual pan...

  Almost every year in South Dakota, there is a risk that grasshopper populations will reach levels capable of causing issues for rangeland, crops, as well as yards and gardens. Unfortunately, our prediction for the 2026 growing season won’t change the trend of the last few years. The first hard freeze in the fall of 2025 was late in many areas (Figure 1). Although I think most of us enjoy later c...

Montana Governor Greg Gianforte praised the Bureau of Land Management’s (BLM) final decision to cancel grazing permits authorizing bison grazing previously issued to the American Prairie Reserve (APR).  “This final decision is a victory for the rule of law and the generations of Montanans who have stewarded our lands with care,” Gov. Gianforte said. “For far too long, the Biden administration igno...

        In 2025, total cattle slaughter was 29.252 million head, down 6.4 percent year over year and down 13.1 percent from the recent cyclical peak in 2022.  Cattle slaughter in 2025 was at the lowest level since 2015.  Table 1 shows the breakdown of 2025 cattle slaughter by size categories of beef packing plants.  This includes both fed and cow slaughter plants. Out of a total of 937 federally i...

Ask five-year Adley Johnson what she enjoys most about life on her family’s Harding County ranch and without hesitation, the fifth-generation rancher says, “riding horses.” Her favorite? A palomino named Custer. Adley is the reason her dad, Brad, is happy he returned home after a more than a decade career as a professional steer wrestler. “I enjoy it when Adley comes out and helps me. When we are...

For Sarah Myers, motherhood and agriculture are not separate roles, they are deeply intertwined, shaped by a lifetime of experience and a commitment to raising the next generation with purpose. “My mom is one of the hardest working people I know,” Myers says. “She had a big influence on how I look at work and how we are raising our kids.” That influence began early. Myers grew up on a diversified...