The first step towards forecasting the price and output of the cattle industry is understanding the dynamics of the livestock production process. This study follows up on the Weimar and Stillman (1990) paper by using data from 1970 to 2005 to estimate the parameters that characterizes the cattle...

Controlling a variety of feeder cattle characteristics, and market and sale conditions, we estimate that certified vaccinations claims along with at least 30 days weaning claims bring in a premium of $6.13/cwt, which is nearly two times of that for similar uncertified claims, compared to no...

Traditional break-even/fed cattle price projections do not provide adequate risk information to feeders, investors, lenders, and other stakeholders interested in cattle feeding decisions. The objectives of this study were two-fold: 1) develop a spreadsheet model that could estimate the net...

Conventional wisdom and earlier research have concluded that cattle feeding profitability is more determined by feeder and fed cattle prices than by animal performance. This study examined cross-sectional and time-series data from over 1600 pens of cattle in more than 220 feedlots in the upper...

The consolidation of pork production into fewer and larger operations has implications for rural agribusiness that have traditionally serviced producers. This study examines purchasing patterns of existing pork producers for production inputs by size of operation. Distance traveled to purchase...

The declining share of beef in total U.S. meat consumption has motivated industry-wide efforts to improve average beef quality through more effective coordination among the various market participants. Increased use of explicit grid pricing mechanisms over the last decade represents initial...