Higher cattle prices expected to continue through ’24, economist says

A livestock economist says there could be some record cattle prices in 2024.

University of Missouri’s Scott Brown says, “That may take us late spring, early summer, but to me it looks like at least at the feeder cattle level we could start to crowd back to those record levels pretty easily.”

He tells Brownfield it could be another shorter year of beef production. “Maybe not quite as much of a decline as we would have suggested six months ago in predicting 2024, but certainly still down.”

Brown says drought remains a concern as subsoil moisture is still short in a lot of areas, even with the recent rounds of precipitation.

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