American cattle price reaches record level

The American cattle price has risen to a record high just before the new year. Drought has been causing a tight cattle market all year, but now extremely low temperatures are adding to it, causing growth delays.

The American beef price has once again risen significantly in recent months. On Monday, December 30, the future in Chicago even reached a record price of $4.27 per kilogram. At the time of writing, the trading price is about a cent lower. The record price is a result of the cold weather in the United States. Particularly in the Rocky Mountains and the East Coast, it is much colder than usual.

This results in less favorable feed conversion for cattle, as cattle need more energy to heat their bodies. Due to the extreme weather, slaughter weights have also decreased by 3%. These two factors together lead to significantly higher prices. The weaker conversion comes at an inconvenient time. Due to the dry weather in recent years, the American cattle herd has been at its lowest point since 1952 for almost the entire year.

Matthijs Bremer

Matthijs Bremer is a market specialist in pork, beef, and poultry meat at DCA Market Intelligence. He also monitors the protein transition, keeping an eye on developments in cultured meat and meat substitutes.

m.bremer@farmerbusiness.com