By Scott Brown
Farm Progress
With 2022 set to be the third consecutive year of declining beef cow inventories, and the fourth year with a smaller calf crop, beef production is expected to retreat by about 3% in the next year.
Potential developments in the ongoing drought situation place a range of uncertainty around this estimate. However, it is almost assured that U.S. beef production will be on the decline into the medium term. While this bodes well for cattle price projections, it could return consumers to a situation last experienced about a decade ago, when international consumers were willing to pay up for beef to the point that availability for the domestic market was compromised.