Georgia Cattle Market Information for the Week Ended June 8, 2007

Weather and Crop Conditions
Pasture conditions across much of Georgia improved some as Tropical Storm Barry delivered anywhere from 2”-6” of precipitation across the southern and eastern parts of Georgia last weekend. Additionally, increased thunderstorm activity around the state resulted in supplemental rains that deposited from .20” to 2.00” throughout the week.

The joy from the recent rains is tempered by the fact that we are still in the midst of a hydrologic drought. In a presentation at the UGA-Tifton Campus last week, State Climatologist, Dr. David Stooksbury stated that even with average precipitation for here on, we will still be in a rain deficit situation. He went on to inform us that it will take one or more tropical systems to get us caught up on precipitation. This reality has significant implications for cattlemen looking at fall and winter feeding scenarios.

For those areas that received rain, the visual improvement in pasture conditions certainly brought encouragement to cattlemen. Even so, pastures and hay fields in Georgia remain in a tenuous situation. According to the latest USDA Crop Progress Report, 74% of Georgia pastures were rated in Poor-Very Poor condition. Florida pasture conditions were almost as severe with 70% of Florida pastures rated as Poor-Very Poor. In the Southeast, Alabama achieved the very unenviable position of worst pastures with 78% rated as Poor-Very Poor. Again, California had worst pasture conditions in the country as 95% of their pastures were rated as Poor-Very Poor.

One interesting observation from a review of drought conditions is the severity of drought conditions as shown in the accompanying graph of drought conditions across the Southeastern U.S. Even though much of Georgia’s pastures are rated as Poor-Very Poor, none of the state is rated as being in a D4 (Exceptional) drought, which is the highest rating for drought conditions.


Weekly Market Report
For the week ended June 8, 2007, cattle receipts at 25 markets 16,215 compared to 19,122 last week and 12,935 year ago. Compared to one week ago, slaughter cows steady to 1.00 higher, bulls steady to 2.00 higher, feeder steers steady, steer calves mostly steady, heifers and heifer calves steady to 2.00 higher, replacement cows 1.00 to 3.00 higher. Total cattle marketings are running almost 19% for the year above where they were compared to 2006. Year to date, total cattle marketings are 282,900 vs. 238,500 for the same period in 2006 (Figure 1). Feeders under 600 pounds continue to make up the largest part of this increase (43%) as producers are early weaning calves. Slaughter cow marketings continue to run considerably above last year. Year to date slaughter cow marketings are up more than 16,000 head compared to year ago totals. Through Week 22 of 2007, more than 42,000 slaughter cows have been marketed in Georgia versus 26,000+ for the same period last year