Fewer cattle and a higher

demand for beef are help

ing send cattle prices

higher, said Dr. Tom Troxel,

associate department direc

tor-animal science for the U

of A Division of Agriculture.

USDA reported the small

est April 1 cattle-on-feed in

ventory since 2004. The 10.8

million head on feed was

3.5 percent lower than last

year and 5.8 percent lower

than the previous five-year

average. It is also about

70,000 head less than what

the trade expected prior to

the report’s release.

The average price for a medium-to-large frame, No. 1 muscle, 475-pound steer calf is $129 per hundred weight.

“That’s an average of $612 per head,” Troxel said. “A year ago the same calf would have sold for $527, or $85 per head less.”

“As the market stands right now, the more weight a cattle producer can put on a calf from grazing quality forages, the more money he or she will make,” Troxel said.

-Column provided by University of Arkansas Division of Agriculture Extension Service

News, Pages 12 on 05/26/2010