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Cattle producer speculates land use change

A Missouri cattle producer says recent spikes in corn prices and sharp drops for cattle might cause a shift in land use.

Glen Cope tells Brownfield high corn prices might make producers with both crops and cattle decide to sell their grain rather than feed it to their livestock, and…

“I think we’re going to see probably some margin ground, that normally would be in cow pastures and hay ground, maybe go into corn this spring,” he said. “Certainly, producers are looking at that.”

Cope said if this is the case, producers will likely thin their cattle herds.

But he said farming is cyclical suggesting a beef rally could come later which would shift producers back to cattle production.

“As long as fences aren’t ripped out, producers have that flexibility,” Cope said.

Cope said while he doesn’t expect the market to drop below a dollar for fat cattle like in 2014, the short-term outlook isn’t ‘fun’.