# Drought, Feed Prices Cited for 2015 Cattle Price Drop

> A new GAO report found that increased packer concentration had little overall effect on cattle prices from 2013 to 2016, pointing instead to drought and feed costs. Fed cattle prices fell about 40% from late 2014 through 2016, and the GAO urged USDA to improve price transparency.

- Date: 2018-04-16 · published 2018-04-16T12:00:00.000Z
- Category: report · region US · magnitude low
- Page: https://feedsoft.ai/events/65642-drought-feed-prices-cited-for-2015-cattle-price-drop
- Commodities: [Live Cattle](https://feedsoft.ai/c/LCATTLE.md)

## Why it matters

The findings point to drought and feed costs as the main price drivers, which matters for feeders watching how weather and feed prices shape cattle values.

## Similar past events

| Commodity | Date | Event | 5-day % | 20-day % |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| LCATTLE | 2018-06-08 | [Projecting feeder cattle prices in 2018](https://feedsoft.ai/events/64683-projecting-feeder-cattle-prices-in-2018.md) | +0.8% | -2.6% |
| LCATTLE | 2020-07-30 | [Cattle futures look for price direction](https://feedsoft.ai/events/52236-cattle-futures-look-for-price-direction.md) | +1.1% | +6.0% |
| LCATTLE | 2025-04-24 | [Fischer: Prices For Cattle Remain High](https://feedsoft.ai/events/25264-fischer-prices-for-cattle-remain-high.md) | +1.8% | +3.8% |
| LCATTLE | 2023-10-24 | [USDA Cattle on Feed Report Hits Cattle Prices Hard](https://feedsoft.ai/events/10309-usda-cattle-on-feed-report-hits-cattle-prices-hard.md) | +1.1% | -3.0% |
| LCATTLE | 2026-02-06 | [2025 Cattle Price Recap and What’s Ahead for 2026?](https://feedsoft.ai/events/20728-2025-cattle-price-recap-and-what-s-ahead-for-2026.md) | +1.9% | +1.4% |

## Sources

- dtnpf.com: https://www.dtnpf.com/agriculture/web/ag/livestock/article/2018/04/11/drought-feed-prices-cited-2015-price

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Data from Feedsoft AI (https://feedsoft.ai/). For information only; not investment advice.