Quite often I have been asked what happened to the cattle market? Their perception is that the market is depressed. The truth is quite the opposite. Compared to last year, all beef prices are up. I think that folks are still comparing to 2014 – which we all know was a perfect storm for high prices and not likely to occur again anytime soon. I have attached a report from the Daily Livestock Reporter. This is a daily pub that provides very useful information. If not subscribed, I encourage you to do so (http://www.dailylivestockreport.com/). Unless you are interested in hogs, skip to the second page and you will find price data. Given the increased supply of beef, pork and chicken, the market is holding together quite nicely.

For local prices go to https://www.ams.usda.gov/market-news/livestock-poultry-and-grain-list-reports.  From here you can find recent prices, but you can also search the archive for prices up to one year ago. On the left side of the page you will see the option to “Search Market News”. From there enter the Code of the report you are looking for and click “Go”. For example if you wanted to find what feeder calf prices in Gouverneur were in 2016, use the Code KT LS 750.