# Here’s why premiums, regardless of the current cattle cycle, matter

> Beef Magazine's Wes Ishmael argues that cattle cycle inventory swings are narrowing, citing a K-State study of cow numbers across cycles. He says growing carcass weights and strong demand, including international, make a deep trough unlikely.

- Date: 2018-03-30 · published 2018-03-30T12:00:00.000Z
- Category: report · region US · magnitude low
- Page: https://feedsoft.ai/events/66135-here-s-why-premiums-regardless-of-the-current-cattle-cycle-matter
- Commodities: [Live Cattle](https://feedsoft.ai/c/LCATTLE.md), [Feeder Cattle](https://feedsoft.ai/c/FCATTLE.md)

## Why it matters

A flatter cattle cycle with heavier carcasses and steady demand supports cattle prices over the long run, though it reduces the historical pull toward cow liquidation and feed-intensive herd rebuilding.

## Read by commodity

- FCATTLE: neutral
- LCATTLE: neutral

## Similar past events

| Commodity | Date | Event | 5-day % | 20-day % |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| LCATTLE | 2025-04-23 | [Heavier cattle weights more than offset slower pace of slaughter to raise production \| Ag Proud](https://feedsoft.ai/events/11327-heavier-cattle-weights-more-than-offset-slower-pace-of-slaughter-to-raise.md) | +2.3% | +3.9% |
| LCATTLE | 2022-03-11 | [Weekly global protein digest: Australia's beef herd recovering, HPAI, US dairy markets
						 \| The Cattle Site](https://feedsoft.ai/events/42221-weekly-global-protein-digest-australia-s-beef-herd-recovering-hpai-us-dairy.md) | +0.5% | +0.3% |
| LCATTLE | 2019-11-22 | [Cattle Current Weekly Highlights—Week ending Nov. 22, 2019 – Cattle Current Market Update](https://feedsoft.ai/events/7035-cattle-current-weekly-highlights-week-ending-nov-22-2019-cattle-current-market.md) | +1.1% | +2.9% |
| LCATTLE | 2023-11-20 | [National feeder and stocker cattle report \| Capital Press](https://feedsoft.ai/events/7972-national-feeder-and-stocker-cattle-report-capital-press.md) | -2.9% | -5.1% |
| LCATTLE | 2022-12-12 | [Is the Spring 2023 Cash Cattle Market Pegged Correctly?](https://feedsoft.ai/events/38173-is-the-spring-2023-cash-cattle-market-pegged-correctly.md) | +0.2% | +1.5% |
| FCATTLE | 2019-12-19 | [Cattle and beef: Where to from here?](https://feedsoft.ai/events/55547-cattle-and-beef-where-to-from-here.md) | +0.6% | +0.6% |
| FCATTLE | 2024-06-28 | [Heavy cattle weights mostly offset tight cattle supplies \| Ag Proud](https://feedsoft.ai/events/29895-heavy-cattle-weights-mostly-offset-tight-cattle-supplies-ag-proud.md) | +0.3% | -0.4% |
| FCATTLE | 2019-02-22 | [National feeder and stocker cattle report \| Capital Press](https://feedsoft.ai/events/60748-national-feeder-and-stocker-cattle-report-capital-press.md) | -0.2% | -0.3% |

## Sources

- beefmagazine.com: https://www.beefmagazine.com/market-news/here-s-why-premiums-regardless-of-the-current-cattle-cycle-matter

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