Cattle Call is an original production of the Nebraska Rural Radio Association and is brought to you by Wolf Auto – Small Town Strong.

Cash cattle markets saw a stronger-than-expected performance last week, with Northern cattle trading up $5 to reach $240. Brad Kooima of Kooima, Kooima & Varilek Trading shared on this week’s Cattle Call that the market strength came as a surprise to many in the industry.

He noted that Southern trade was harder to pinpoint but hovered around $230. One key factor, he said, was how quickly cattle sold late in the week were delivered early this week.

“I think you saw the packer also use up some inventory, got himself closer to the knife… and there’s that, my favorite word lately – leverage,” he said.

Kooima continues to see the Northern cattle industry as the driver of market momentum.

“The North continues to paddle the boat here. And as goes the North, so goes the market, in my opinion.”

Balancing Imports, Exports, and Consumer Transparency
The conversation turned toward the long-running imbalance between beef imports and exports, and what that means for domestic producers.

“Beef production year-to-date in the United States is down a little over 300 million pounds,” Kooima explained. “Conversely, our import/export has been in a great imbalance for a long time. Twenty-two of the last 23 months, we’ve imported more beef than we’ve exported.”

Much of the imported product, particularly from Brazil, is grinding meat for use in fast food or processed products. Kooima acknowledged the tension this creates in the industry, especially regarding transparency.

“I think we need to have some imports of beef. I would be also very much in the camp that the consumer should be able to know what they’re eating is coming from,” he said. “You peel a banana, it’s got a sticker on it… That part of this whole issue just plagues me.”

Attracting Young Producers: Risk and Fairness
In response to a listener question about how to bring young people into the cattle industry, Kooima admitted it’s a complex challenge, but not without hope.

“It’s not completely dead. There’s a few of these entrepreneurial, hardworking young people that are willing to take it on,” he said.

He pointed to policy solutions like the “50/14” negotiated cash trade rule as one possible way to make the industry more accessible to independent and younger producers.

“It allowed the regular, the small guy, the farmer, the non-corporate feeder to have at least a kind of a level playing field with the big corporates,” Kooima explained.

Futures Market Discount Creates Leverage But Comes with Caution
Another listener question addressed the wide gap between futures and cash markets and whether that gives feedlots more leverage.

“It’s been interesting and record-breaking levels, frankly,” Kooima said. “The steeply discounted futures to cash… does create leverage because it gets us to be current.”

He added, however, that the wide basis can also unintentionally suppress the market.

“It actually has a tendency to drag the market down because people are easier sellers… They can’t wait to cover their hedge and get this plus basis deal.”

He said there’s ongoing work within the industry, including among the Iowa Cattlemen, to propose ideas to the CME, such as a demand feature that could help improve convergence between futures and cash.

Looking Ahead
As of midweek, Kooima noted that early trade signals point to a steady or stronger cash market once again.

“The South has traded a few cattle at $230… There’s been just a tiny bit of $240,” he said. “I think we’re going to trade $242 or maybe a little better than that in the North and maybe more like $232 or $233 in the South before it’s all said and done this week.”