Lemmy’s thoughts for April:

1.    Spring is finally here! A welcome sight! We have all struggled thru winter to get thru and hold our operations together. So it is definitely a welcome date.

2.    Feed costs have changed the dynamics of the cattle industry. Grass will be more valuable and grazing periods will be longer. It is the time for all cattle operations to take a hard look at your grass growing program. Fertilizer costs have to be considered, rotational grazing and all the practices that will increase your gains on grass.

3.    Energy costs have continued to impact our cattle market. It costs a lot more to transport these cattle the 1,000 to 1200 miles that they most must travel to the feed. I filled my pickup up with diesel last week and it cost $4.049 per gallon. The total was $82.00!

4.    It appears that we are not increasing our cow herd at the present time. Perhaps the average cow man doesn’t see the opportunity financially to increase his cows. Time will tell how this will play out.

5.    We really have three players in the beef market today. Cargill, Tyson and JBS. This Brazilian company will bring some new dynamics to the US beef complex. We’ll see how all this plays out in the future.

6.    I lost a dear friend a couple of weeks ago. Paul Hitch was a personal friend and certainly a true friend to the cattle industry. My memories of working with him at NCBA are most pleasant.

7.    We at Hodge Livestock Network will pledge our utmost to provide you with the very best marketing program as we wade thru these difficult times.

Sincerely,

Lemmy