Short Market Week, Clipper Weather Systems

Feb 20, 2024

Here are the Top 5 things the DTN Newsroom is tracking for the week of Feb. 18. Watch for coverage of these and other topics through the week on our subscription platforms as well as on www.DTNPF.com.

All times listed below are in Central Standard Time (CST) unless otherwise mentioned.

1. Presidents Day holiday: Markets are closed on Monday in observance of federal Presidents Day holiday in the United States, although mandatory livestock reports are still released that day. Canadian markets are also closed for Family Day in some provinces or named a different holiday in others. We'll have limited updates, with market coverage and full news coverage resuming Tuesday.

2. Census of Ag details: We'll continue to dig into the trends and surprises from the 2022 Census of Agriculture. Our latest piece on the Census, created through our alliance with the Mississippi River Basin Ag & Water Desk network, is here: https://www.dtnpf.com/….

3. More machinery coverage: We'll have additional pieces from our attendance at several of the winter farm equipment shows. Watch our Top Stories, as well as check out our Equipment section, found here: https://www.dtnpf.com/….

4. Weather changes: Throughout next week, multiple clipper systems will cross the Central U.S., providing areas of rain and isolated snow showers. The Northern and Central Plains may see warmer weather return through the week. In the Midwest, those systems will also bring higher temperatures, which will keep precipitation in the form of rain instead of snow. In South America, a system off the Brazil coast will continue to produce showers in southern and eastern Brazil through early this week. The front that is moving through Argentina this week may produce scattered showers later in the week.

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Video: Evolution of Beef Cattle Farming

The Clear Conversations podcast took to the road for a special episode recorded in Nashville during CattleCon, bringing listeners straight into the heart of the cattle industry. Host Tracy Sellers welcomed rancher Steve Wooten of Beatty Canyon Ranch in Colorado for a wide-ranging discussion that blended family history and sustainability, particularly as it relates to the future of beef production.

Sustainability emerged as a central theme of the conversation, a word that Wooten acknowledges can mean very different things depending on who you ask. For him, sustainability starts with the soil. Healthy soil produces healthy grass, which supports efficient cattle capable of producing year after year with minimal external inputs. It’s an approach that equally considers vegetation, animal efficiency, and long-term profitability.

That philosophy aligned naturally with Wooten’s involvement in the U.S. Roundtable for Sustainable Beef, where he served as a representative for the Colorado Cattlemen’s Association. The roundtable brings together the entire beef supply chain—from producers to retailers—along with universities, NGOs, and allied industries. Its goal is not regulation, Wooten emphasized, but collaboration, shared learning, and continuous improvement.