FULL OF FINDINGS
2023 CCA FEEDER MEETING OFFERS MARKET OUTLOOKS, RESEARCH UPDATES AND MORE by Director of Communications Katie Roberit
Each spring, CCA’s Feeder Meeting brings hundreds together for the annual educational event organized and put on by CCA’s Feeder Council. Cattle feeders from the Imperial Valley, Central Valley, Arizona and beyond recently participated in the 2023 event May 24-26 at the Marriott Marquis San Diego Marina. In addition to cattle feeders, each year, the meeting also attracts a growing number of animal health professionals, trade companies and other allied industry members looking to connect with feeders and stay current on news, issues and trends related to the feeding sector of the cattle industry. The 2023 event was the same, as registration numbers surpassed the previous year’s attendance and the event continues to grow. With Feeder Meeting taking place in downtown San Diego for many years now, the Wednesday night welcome party has grown into a gathering many look forward to attending in the city. Attendees spend the evening networking and socializing before a full program of speakers and updates to follow the next day. This year’s Welcome Party was held outdoors at Puesto at the Headquarters, a Mexican restaurant in San Diego’s Seaport Village. Sponsored by Boehringer Ingelheim, the group enjoyed unique ribeye, filet mignon and short rib quesabirria tacos on homemade tortillas along with other appetizers and beverages while connecting with attendees. The next day, CCA Feeder Council Chair Joe Dan Cameron, Brawley, called the meeting to order at 8 am, and a full day of presentations got underway. To kick off the program, three speakers provided industry outlooks. “Those first three speakers were really good,” Cameron said. CattleFax Market Analyst Patrick Linnell started by giving an outlook on the cattle and beef market. Rabo AgriFiance Vice President
24 California Cattleman July 2023
Analyst Andrick Payen Diaz Vega then presented “The Mighty (Volatile) US Crop: A Grains & Oilseed Outlook.” Finally, Spencer Prosser, the co-owner of MP Agrilytics, gave a global cattle and beef outlook. Later in the afternoon, Gregg Doud, Aimpoint Research’s Vice President of Global Situation Awareness and Chief Economist, delivered a global outlook, sharing insights on agricultural trade and exports. Dodd’s presentation was sponsored by the California Cattle Council. After hearing the presented outlooks, Cameron expects to have a good year as a cattle feeder. Although interest rates make it difficult for feeders right now, he says the roughage situation in the southwest and the San Joaquin Valley is anticipated to improve. Additionally, a decrease in corn prices over the next year is favorable for feeders. Cameron says it’s clear when looking at what’s going to happen with cow herd numbers over the next couple of years and the cattle cycle, numbers are down, and supplies are not there. As a feedyard manager in Brawley, he sees this daily. “We don’t get offered the cattle we used to get offered,” Cameron said. “The amount of Holstein calves in California is changing. A lot of those cattle are being bred with Angus now, and those cattle are eligible to be fed in Nebraska, Kansas, Texas, where in prior years, those Holstein cattle were kind of just kept down here in the Desert Southwest. Our numbers are going to get shorter.” The topic of breeding beef cattle with dairy cattle has been popular at CCA Feeder Meetings in recent years as the trend continues to evolve in the industry. The 2023 meeting program once again included multiple speakers on the subject. Brad Johnson, Ph.D., Gordon W. Davis Regent’s Chair in Meat and Muscle Biology at Texas