John Nalivka

John Nalivka is the president of Sterling Marketing, Inc., which provides economic research and market advisory services to the livestock and meat industries. He became affiliated with Sterling in 1991 as executive vice president and he has owned the company since 1994. Nalivka serves clients across the red meat supply chain from producers to end-users.

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Herd building, whether through heifer retention or buying bred heifers, is a financial decision on the part of the cattleman and timing is part of that decision.
Decisions up and down the beef supply chain evolve around calculating costs and breakeven prices.
While some operations are increasing cow numbers, there are a couple segments decreasing numbers or exiting for good.
A more productive cowherd fuels the growth of beef production which in turn reduces the need to increase cow numbers to generate that same growth.
While financial well-being is a function of the market, it is also a function of the availability of grass for grazing cattle. Both define the cattle cycle. Furthermore, grazing is critical for rangeland health.
Activists will intensify their calls to end grazing and beef production over the next several years as climate change and carbon emissions become the priority as opposed to just protecting the environment.
Rather than running to the politicians to solve a problem, perhaps the better strategy might be to gather a plan to create a better understanding of the economics of the industry.
The future of cattle economics from genetic selection to herd management, and marketing will be increasingly tied to the final product and continually searching for efficiencies across that entire process.
America’s beef cattle inventory continues to tighten, pushing market prices to record levels. Under normal conditions, that would lead to anticipation about building herds again. However, this cycle is anything but typical.
The packing industry is driven by throughput capacity and the utilization of that capacity. Packers compete for cattle to accommodate that capacity just as feedlots compete for feeder cattle.