Livestock 2017 Outlook Not Pretty

Cattle and hog prices dropped in 2016, but that does not appear to be putting a damper on expected 2017 production.

USDA Chief Economist Rob Johannson said they see record production numbers in 2017.

“Beef and pork prices falling by about 10 percent relative to this year [2016]”

Forecasts show another 800 million pounds of beef production, totaling nearly 26 billion pounds. Pork will add 880 million pounds in 2017 to 25.8 billion.

Prices are expected to fall by about $13.5 per hundredweight in cows and $6 per hundredweight in hogs.