The Shadow
RICHMOND —Virginia’s cattle farmers can share their stories and track the latest trends in feeder cattle markets on the new Virginia Farm Bureau CattlePulse podcast.
The monthly podcast explores national developments in the feeder cattle market that affect Virginia’s cow-calf operators, helping them make informed business decisions.
Feeder cattle are young cattle mature enough to be sold for finishing before slaughter. Each CattlePulse episode includes the average monthly prices of feeder cattle sales from Abingdon to Winchester, and unpacks the economic story they tell. It’s hosted by commodity specialist Elijah Griles of Virginia Farm Bureau Federation’s Department of Agriculture, Development and Innovation.
“There is a lot of information available regarding agricultural economic trends, but we wanted to provide insight that was specific to Virginia cow-calf producers, in a concise and easily accessible format, one that largely is not available elsewhere,” Griles said. “Providing this resource for our members is a way to add value to their operations.”
In the inaugural episode, he shared numbers showing that national cattle feeder futures contracts have ticked upward month after month, following three years of consecutive drought conditions in regions where most U.S. cattle production is concentrated. Although pasture conditions, input costs and inflation all impacted supplies and the cost of production, demand for beef remains strong.
“We see that small but positive change continuing as we enter into the new year,” Griles noted. “The question in 2023 is: Will this strengthening of cattle markets at the national level continue, and how does that relate to the local markets?”
Podcast guests share big-picture commentary, offering cattle producers timely economic insight regarding cattle retention or culling the herd. Griles includes the voices of agricultural economists from American Farm Bureau Federation and marketing specialists from the Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services.
The podcast also makes farmers aware of available resources, like the price forecasting tool on the Virginia Commodity Marketing website—a target price calculator spreadsheet that helps cattle producers forecast the value of their animals.
“The more information people have at their fingertips, the better the decisions they’ll make,” said podcast guest Jonathan Howard, VDACS market news service specialist.
Visit spoti.fi/3ZDaBUn to hear CattlePulse episodes. Contact Griles at elijah.griles@vafb.com with comments, topic suggestions and questions.
