Beef Low Production Number Woes

Beef Low Production Number Woes

I’m KayDee Gilkey with today’s Open Range.

U.S. beef producers will be sending less of their products to other countries as U.S. beef exports saw a 16 percent decline last year. USDA Livestock Analysts Shayle Shagam explains

Shagam: “Some of that was a result of the price increases you say, but a lot of that was simply there isn’t a lot of beef out there.”

Shagam predicts another small decline in beef exports this year down to 2.4 billion pounds

Shagam: “About 11 million pounds lower.”

That is bad news for exports but to add insult to injury -- beef imports are on the rise.

Shagam: “We expect imports to increase 16 percent to 2.6 billion pounds -- a lot of that is tied to the continued strong demand for processing grade beef in the United States. hamburger is relative cheap to your middle meats - to your table cuts.”

Cattle on Feed February numbers were released last Friday and feedlot inventory at 11.1 million head -- 6 percent below what it had been on Feb. 1, 2012. Marketings of fed cattle during January totaled 1.92 million, 6 percent above 2012.

Shagam shares that on the domestic front, the average American this year will eat less meat while paying more for it.

Shagam: “We look at beef to be the big decline down 1.3 pounds to about 56.1 pounds per capita. Pork will be up 3/10s of a pound to 46.1 pounds.”