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October 6, 2005 Market Advisor: New Livestock Round-Up Available
Would you like to know more about consumer demand for beef, the outlook for cattle and sheep and lamb prices, and the Canadian cattle industry? Those topics are covered in the most recent issue of the quarterly Livestock Round-Up published by the Livestock Marketing Information Center (LMIC). Some of you “old time” livestock market observers may remember receiving the brown and white monthly Western Livestock Round-Up newsletter in the mail during the ‘70s and ‘80s. Later, readers across the Western and Great Plains states received the Round-Up as an insert in state agricultural magazines. Due to increasing costs of printing and mailing, the emergence of electronic media and the LMIC taking on more of a national scope, the Round-Up was discontinued in the mid-1990s. The LMIC is a unique cooperative effort that includes 24 state Extension Services (including the NDSU Extension Service), five cooperating USDA agencies and seven associate livestock-related organizations. Each participating institution has a designated member of the LMIC. I am the designated member from NDSU. The expertise of the state livestock marketing economists, the USDA representatives and several full-time LMIC staff members, including Jim Robb, director, and Erica Rosa, agricultural economist, provide a critical mass to evaluate livestock markets and related issues. Therefore, a decision was made to revive the Livestock Round-Up on a quarterly basis and distribute it in electronic format. It can be accessed on my Web site at: www.ag.ndsu.nodak.edu/aginfo/lsmkt/livestock.htm or from the LMIC Web site at www.lmic.info/memberspublic/roundup/roundup.pdf. Publication dates are March, June, September and December. Articles will focus on livestock markets and related issues. The major species covered in terms of market situation and outlook will be cattle, hogs and sheep. Other species and related industries also will be covered periodically. James Mintert, Kansas State University Extension Service livestock marketing economist, is serving as editor. He authored an article titled “What is Consumer Demand for Beef?” The article emphasizes that understanding consumer demand for beef, its key determinants and how to analyze changes in demand, can be challenging. Part of the difficulty comes from confusion over terminology. Often market analysis focuses on cattle and beef supply because, in the short run, supply changes more frequently than demand. However, demand also is important in determining prices for cattle and beef products. The article titled “A Closer Look at the Canadian Cattle Industry” focuses on how BSE-related issues have affected the cattle industry in Canada and how the cattle and beef trade between the U.S. and Canada is changing. Articles also discuss the factors influencing cattle and sheep prices and the increases in numbers that are occurring in those industries. Your comments or suggestions for future articles are welcomed and encouraged. Please feel free to send them to me at tpetry@ndsuext.nodak.edu. ### Source:
Tim Petry, (701) 231-7469, tpetry@ndsuext.nodak.edu |
Market Advisor: |
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North Dakota State University |
