What's New?
Margin requirements for hedging in the CME Group live cattle futures contract have increased in recent years. Learn whether it has led to an impact in hedging use in this Cornhusker Economics article.
Stay up-to-date on cattle markets by reading In the Cattle Markets
Co-Product Storage Are you interested in learning how to store wet ethanol co-products, and more importantly, how much it would cost? Visit the Ethanol Co-Products page to learn about the opportunities and methods for storage in a new publication called “Storage of Wet Co-Products.” Plus, download a new Excel spreadsheet called Co-Product STORE (Storage To Optimize Ration Expenses) to estimate your own costs to bagging or bunkering wet co-products.
Recent Master's Theses
- Becky Small "Profit Variability & Risk Management Analysis of Calf-Fed and Yearling Production Systems" (May 2009)
- Josie Waterbury "The Economic IMpact of Corn Co-Products in the Nebraska Beef Cattle Industry" (December 2008)
Additional Notes
Exports of pork and beef increased dramatically in 2008, but export
prospects for 2009 are less bright. Read about international beef and pork
trade in this Analysis and Comments from the Livestock Marketing Information Center.
The U.S. recently became a net exporter of dairy products. Read about the increase in exports in this LMIC Analysis and Comments article.
There is debate on revising the ethanol blending limits. Read about the issue and implications for livestock producers in this LMIC Analysis & Comments paper.
Needing to learn more about the 2008 Farm Bill so you can make decisions about ACRE, SURE, and other programs? Be sure to visit UNL's Farm Bill website for educational videos, factsheets, and decision aids.
Country of Origin Labeling is mandatory as of October 1, 2008. Learn how COOL will affect your operation by studying the materials available here.
End of Day Futures Quotes
Ethanol Co-Product Utilization
Results of a survey of Nebraska cattle feeders reveal trends in pricing and
contracting wet and dry co-products from wet and dry mill ethanol plants.
Additionally, these feeders report information about which co-products are
most commonly fed, and their overall satisfication with the co-products.
Read EC858, "An Economic Overview of Ethanol Co-product Utilization in
Nebraska" for all the information.
Nebraska Ag Radio is an online radio station for students in the College of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources and freinds of the college, and it is produced by Matt Dolch, a junior ag journalism major who works at UNL Electronic Media. Listen to NebraskaAgRadio.unl.edu for ag markets and agribusiness news by going to nebraskaagradio.unl.edu. NebraskaAgRadio is also available on iTunes.
Cattle CODE
The Cattle Co-product Optimizer Decision Evaluator is a spreadsheet tool to assist cattle feeders and nutritionists in calculating feeding margin changes resulting from feeding ethanol byproduct feeds. Cattle CODE can be used to compare the marginal benefits to feeding byproducts (e.g., improved cattle performance) with the extra costs that result from feeding byproducts (e.g., transportation and handling costs). Download Cattle CODE free of charge.
