Halfway through its pilot run, Don Close, chief research & analytics officer with Terrain says the USDA’s Cattle Contract Library, is providing producers with the transparency they wanted. “With 80 percent of the cattle in there, if there were any sweetheart deals out there, it would be showing up in that data,” he says. “It’s that complete.”
He tells Brownfield producers can use the information in their slaughter report to their advantage. “They could take their cattle and how that could fit into what the premium and discounts of the reports show each week,” he says. “I think it gives very solid insight to the producer to see how he or she is positioned in the overall marketplace.”
Close says the system isn’t perfect, but is recommending the USDA continue the program.
Keeping cattle markets competitive for producers
