Ag economist says cash cattle market continues to push higher

An ag economist says just because cash cattle prices are moving higher, it doesn’t mean the market is without risk. Mississippi State University Extension ag economist Josh Maples says market fundamentals support higher cattle prices. “We certainly haven’t gotten the data to suggest that we’re turning the supply by any big meaningful way,” he says. “We’re going to be in for some pretty volatile periods here.”

He tells Brownfield that the higher prices are making a one- or two-percent move in the market more substantial. “We’re talking at $240.00 cash fed cattle prices,” he says. “That’s $2.40 for a 1% swing. So you know a $2.00 move is not the same as it was when we were talking about $1.20 cattle prices.”

Maples says the market will continue to look for a top, “But we sure don’t seem to have found it.”