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United States cattle producers have various government‐sponsored programs to protect against weather and disease related risks, but livestock risk protection (LRP) insurance is the only program that protects against price risk. However, adoption of LRP insurance is low even though cattle price declines are the primary cause of economic loss, and LRP premium subsidies have recently been increased. Therefore, the objective of this study is to explore how informational nudges about receiving an indemnity payment, LRP contract characteristics, and individual risk preferences affect the use of LRP. Producer survey results were estimated using a Cragg model to determine the factors affecting producers' likelihood of purchasing LRP and the number of head they would insure. Producers were more likely to purchase 100% LRP coverage and would also insure more head at 100% coverage when compared to lower coverage levels. We found providing information on the probability of receiving an indemnity did not impact LRP purchasing decisions. However, counter to expectations, producers were more likely to buy LRP when the randomly provided cattle prices in the survey were successively increasing each month, and if participants considered themselves more willing to take risks in their cattle operation. Results provide insights into behavioral factors affecting LRP participation which could help inform future insurance policies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recent wide spreads between boxed beef cutout values and fed cattle prices have reignited beef cattle producers' long‐held concerns about price discovery. The recent concerns have led to policy proposals meant to increase negotiated trade volumes in the cash market. We determine how volume, day of the week, sex, grade, weight range, and other factors impact price ranges in the negotiated cash market. We find many factors, in addition to sales volume, can impact price ranges. The analysis provides insight into current policy proposals, and we discuss the need for more detailed data for precise answers to current policy questions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Federal and state legislators recently enacted policies to fund new and renovated small and local meat processors expansion with the aim of increasing the meat‐processing sector's resiliency. Wages must be competitive to attract employees for these new and renovated plants to be competitive. No previous studies have examined what has happened to employee labor costs at United States (US) meat‐processing plants since the early 2000s. This study estimates how meat‐processing firm size affects employee wages in the US. We use average employee wages for beef and pork processing plants from 2007 to 2019. We find larger plants pay higher wages than smaller ones, which is likely attributable to lower fixed costs resulting from economies of scale. Findings suggest that facilities with more than 500+ employees will most likely offer wage that are high enough to recruit workers in for this industry. Small plants will need to increase real wages that are higher than historical averages. Thus, if smaller facilities increase the sector's resiliency, then it will likely come at a cost in terms of higher wage bills. [EconLit Citations: Q12, Q18]. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We investigate the role of optimism bias in bull price expectations using incentivized lab-in-the-field experiments with Alabama and Tennessee cattle producers. We develop bull price prediction tasks and reward accurate predictions. We find that the EPD information provision prevents optimism bias from contaminating price expectations in the whole sample. However, we also document that, unlike buyers, sellers are prone to unrealistic optimistic expectations, and our results reveal that optimism bias can be moderated by the type of expected progeny difference information utilized, breed characteristics, and regional differences in cattle operations. We contribute to the literature by documenting the role of behavioral biases. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We determine optimal stocker strategies based on calving season, herd size, and the number of days of retention before marketing weaned calves. We estimate a hedonic pricing model for feeder cattle and incorporate this into a simulation model that considers the variability of cattle prices and feed costs. The profit and utility-maximizing decision for fall calving herd would be to retain weaned calves for 150-day postweaning. The producer marketing spring-born calves would prefer to sell these calves at weaning. The results are being utilized by extension to aid cattle producers in reducing their feed costs and increasing their profits. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We estimate a hedonic pricing model to determine producers' value for bull expected progeny differences (EPDs), genomic-enhanced EPDs, and phenotypic traits. Birth weight EPD, ribeye area EPD, sale weight, age, frame score, and other factors had a statistically significant impact on bull prices. GE-EPDs were not associated with a change in the bull sales prices expect for weaned calf value and birth weight EPDs. Including weaned calf value and GE-EPDs in a bull hedonic pricing model provides a unique contribution. The results from this work will inform educational programming for bull purchasers on using new economic selection indices and GE-EPDs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses challenges faced by cattle producers and ranchers that can lead to stress, anxiety and substance abuse. It mentions animal welfare as one of the issues of livestock caretakers where it discusses studies which shows link between animal care and positive mental health, discussed role of extension economists which include business planning, income security and risk management; and other discussed other points.

A hedonic model was employed to examine factors impacting feeder cattle prices at a monthly video auction in Tennessee. Home-raised cattle were estimated to have a $2 per cwt. premium and cattle that have been tested for PI-BVDV (persistent infections with bovine viral diarrhea virus) sold for a premium of $1.19 per cwt. We also show how price varies across sale months for steers and heifers, suggesting opportune times to market gender-specific lots. Corn price was interacted with an average weight per head of the lot to show that lighter cattle were negatively affected, while heavier cattle prices were positively affected by increasing corn prices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cattle producers and markets faced massive disruptions due to COVID‐19 in both supply and demand for cattle and beef. Restaurant and food service shutdowns affected beef demand. Closures and slowdowns of beef processors caused a logjam of live cattle in the supply chain. The resulting effects on cattle producers at all levels were lower prices and abnormal cattle flows, but the magnitudes of those effects were not homogenous across size and type of cattle. In this article, we detail how the COVID‐19 pandemic has affected cattle markets and cattle producers across the different sectors. We also discuss policy responses and considerations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]