What a year! The upper graph (below) is from May 30th one year ago. The lower graph is May 29, 2026. Notice how many lines Craig Purvines from The Cattle Range had to add to this graph in the last 12 months to keep up with rising cattle prices. This has been a banner year for cow-calf producers (blue line).
With prices like this, cow-calf producers should be building tremendous wealth. Their calves are worth almost twice as much as they were worth during the previous record-high prices of 2014 and 2015. The reason most producers are not building tremendous wealth, however, is because the cost of their inputs has doubled since 2010. DOUBLED in just 16 years – and they continue to increase.
I fear there will be a day of reckoning when cattle prices fall like they did in 2016. That time is coming. Are you prepared? If you have not already done so, you need to make the transition from high-input ranching to low-input ranching. Those who are not prepared will suffer the consequences on the day of reckoning. I fear this will be the downfall of many family farms and ranches.
Quote Worth Re-Quoting
“Spectacular achievement is always preceded by unspectacular preparation.” ~ Robert Schuller
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