September 12 WASDE Provides Some Good News for Cattle Producers
Dr. Curt Lacy (UGA)
On Wednesday, September 12, USDA released its September World Agricultural Supply and Demand Estimates (WASDE). While the report did not contain any major news, it did indicate that corn supplies should be marginally higher from now until next year. As a result, the U.S. average corn price was lowered slightly (Figure 1). While this may not seem a big deal to many, the fact that corn prices are not projected to be much higher is favorable for calf and feeder cattle prices.
Going forward, cattlemen can expect reasonably firm calf prices with some seasonal weakness. Even though corn prices were marginally lowered, feed costs will still not be cheap. Cattle producers should be evaluating all possibilities including winter forages and alternative feedstuffs to keep feed costs manageable this fall.
