Short Cattle Supplies and Beef Demand | Checkoff Chat
Retail beef demand increased 7 percent year over year in 2014.
Q: Cattle supplies are down and beef prices are up, so is demand going to bust?
A: Anyone who has listened to a CattleFax presentation in the previous 12 months will recognize the confluence of factors that were deemed to be the market’s “perfect storm.” Prices for beef, pork and poultry were elevated due to tight per capita supplies and stronger demand.
Intuition would say higher prices should lead to demand destruction, yet since all of the competing meats were facing limited supplies, customers were willing to pay more for what was available. Retail beef demand increased 7 percent year over year in 2014 with a record-high annual average all-fresh retail price of $5.60 per pound. Fed cattle prices averaged $154 per hundredweight in 2014, which was up $200 per head at this price level. While both supply and demand were very supportive to profits last year, there is still and important piece missing from the discussion. Read more from Beef Issues Quarterly.
Read more about the Beef Checkoff Programs in our Checkoff Chat Series with the Montana Beef Council. Click here to submit your own questions to be answered in future posts.
About the Beef Checkoff
The Beef Checkoff Program (MyBeefCheckoff.com) was established as part of the 1985 Farm Bill. It assesses $1 per head on the sale of live domestic and imported cattle, in addition to a comparable assessment on imported beef and beef products. States retain up to 50 cents on the $1 and forward the other 50 cents to the Cattlemen’s Beef Board, which administers the national checkoff program, subject to USDA approval. The Montana Beef Council was created in 1954 by cattlemen as a marketing organization for the Montana beef industry and is organized to protect and increase demand for beef and beef products through state, national and international beef promotion, research and education, thereby enhancing profit opportunities for Montana beef producers.
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About Author
The Montana Stockgrowers Association, a non-profit membership organization, has worked on behalf of Montana’s cattle ranching families since 1884. Our mission is to protect and enhance Montana ranch families’ ability to grow and deliver safe, healthy, environmentally wholesome beef to the world.