Prices for Choice and Select grade fed cattle are derived from wholesale and retail beef markets. Choice-Select price discounts are a key component of fed cattle pricing, whether packers purchase fed cattle on a live weight, dressed weight, or grid. This study identifies supply, demand, and...

Replaced with revised version of paper 06/04/09.

Reduced reliance on cash market prices for fed cattle and hogs raise questions about the role of cash prices in price discovery. We use seven years of weekly data from mandatory price reports to determine whether or not cash market prices are cointegrated with other procurement prices and then...

Clear and continuing changes in the structure of the U.S. meatpacking industry have significantly increased economic concentration since the mid-1970s. Concentration levels are among the highest of any industry in the United States, and well above levels generally considered to elicit...

Captive supplies have been a contentious issue in the livestock industry for fifteen years and the subject of both theoretical and empirical research. In 2001, mandatory price reporting was implemented. One objective by its proponents was to increase the amount of information available on...

Preconditioning calf programs, while not new, are becoming more prevalent. They provide benefits to cow-calf producers while adding value for feeder cattle buyers. However, questions remain regarding the economic costs and returns of such programs. A model was estimated with data from three...

Two beef cattle production traits that affect performance are frame size and muscle thickness. Buyers pay premiums or discounts for feeder cattle with different frame and muscling. Do prices accurately reflect performance? What effect do frame and muscling have on profitability? Performance...

The increased amount of contracting in many agricultural markets continues to be a source of considerable controversy. Some research indicates that increased levels of contracting lead to better prices for processors/users while other research is inconclusive. This article uses an experimental...