To Take Advantage Of Opportunities, Cowboys Need To Roll Up Their Sleeves And Manage Costs

By Dr. Derrell Peel Oklahoma State University Extension Livestock Market Economist

As the markets get closer to closing out the third quarter of 2016, Farm Director Ron Hays sat down with Oklahoma State University Extension Livestock Market Economist Dr. Derrell Peel, to get his perspective on the cattle business conducted over the last eight months. He says that producers had some fun a couple years ago, but the economy is playing the B side of what markets experienced in 2013-2014, and it is now time to go forward.

“A lot of this has still been kind of a transition that really started last year,” Peel said. “I think in general it has played out to what we expected.

“We’ve got bigger numbers, we’re growing. Supply issues obviously are more on our minds now than they have been in the last few years. In general, I’m pretty comfortable with where we are now and the way these markets are kind of balanced against each other at this point.”

It was around this time last year, Dr. Peel says, that prices began to tumble in all segments of the market, citing a lot of unexpected situations that occurred. He says what is important to understand is that the market responded with some challenging adjustments over the last 12 months that has left producers very cautious, even still. Peel insists though this big adjustment is behind us, and although we may not be happy with it relative to what it is now, producers should be able to move forward with more of a sense of stability in the market.