Peel Recommends Producers Make Their Strategic Plan For Rest Of Decade

The cattle market outlook is highly variable for 2015. Oklahoma State University Extension Livestock Market Economist Dr. Derrell Peel said a lot will depend on which sector a producer is involved in and continued process of drought recovery.

"You want to take advantage of these markets as the best you can, but you have to work with your forage resources," Peel said. "Other folks, I think are being much more aggressive in general. Particularly the cow-calf sector, definitely sitting in the driver’s seat now. We don’t have enough cattle and the market is increasingly telling them to do that.

Peel recommends cow-calf producers make their expectations for the next three to five years. He said producers need to ask themselves if they think cattle prices will remain strong for several more years and can justify paying these high costs for breeding animals.   If you don’t believe that, he said producers need to determine their plan to take advantage of these high prices.