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Dairy cows larger portion of beef supply

Top Story IconA livestock marketing specialist says dairy cows have made up a larger portion of the cattle supply the last two years because of lower beef inventories.

Darrell Peel with Oklahoma State University tells Brownfield dairy cattle entered the beef market at much larger rate in 2014 and 2015.  “The beef side has been smaller, animal numbers have been down, and so the relative role of dairy has been bigger.”  He says while dairy has made up a larger portion of the beef supply, the size of the dairy herd entering the market has been relatively stable.

Peel says a run up in cattle prices during the last two years has jumped started a long overdue beef herd expansion.  “We’ve seen a sharp reduction down at the end of 2015 and so far into 2016—and with larger supplies ahead of us we know there’s going to continue to be that supply pressure.”

He says the beef market should be able to cope with the growing supplies in the near-term.  “The feedlot industry is probably more current right now than it’s been in quite some time and even though we know there’s more cattle coming through the system in the next few months, we’re in pretty good shape to handle that.”

Peel says domestic beef demand has been relatively steady and the international market should also help support prices.

AUDIO: Interview with Darrell Peel

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