NEWS

August feeder cattle movement was seasonally light as usual, but marketing calves and yearlings late this summer was especially difficult with extremely high heat and humidity plaguing most of the central portion of the U.S. Dangerously high heat indexes caused tremendous shrink on cattle being moved to market with heat stress sapping flesh and fill conditions and even deathloss in several cases before purchases made their new destinations. Calf demand was only moderate early in August during the hottest portion of the summer, but yearling feeder cattle interest never wavered as feedyard inventories are extremely “green” and buyers continue aggressively for feedlot replacements as the finished cattle market remains brisk.

The American Gelbvieh Association (AGA) introduces its Southern Balancer hybrid, a Gelbvieh heat-tolerant composite specifically targeted to Southern beef producers. Registration certificates and performance data will be offered this fall, AGA said.

A potentially fatal condition called “frothy bloat” is afflicting Kentucky cattle herds and prompting state officials to ask the U.S. Department of Agriculture to include the condition in a program allowing farmers to request reimbursement for losses.

Brazil-based JBS Swift, the world’s largest beef producer, announced plans in early July to acquire the McElhaney Cattle Co. feedyard of Welton, Arizona. McElhaney has a one-time capacity for 130,000 head of cattle, according to a company press release.

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has revised its guidance document containing advisory levels for the mycotoxin deoxynivalenol, also referred to as DON or vomitoxin – increasing the level destined for beef cattle and establishing for the first time a separate level for dairy cattle.