Great post, Thank you.

It's fairly obvious that the reason calves are so "high" is that there are not enough of them to fill demand. Fake meat is falling on it's face. People want a good quality, real meat product.

The reason there are not enough feeder calves to fill demand is that in the past there has been insufficient profit in maintaining a beef cow herd, breeding a cow herd, calving a herd, raising calves and selling "green" calves in the fall at 600 lb. This shortage of beef breed calves has allowed dairies to sell angus cross dairy bull calves for more money, income that they need since milk prices are so bad. Dairy bull calves have turned from a problem waste product to a new dairy profit center.

Another factor is that, unlike chickens and hogs, mass industrial production just doesn't work very well with beef cow/calf. In my opinion industrial cow/calf never will be profitable, cows are just different.

Up until recently, the average beef cow herd size in the USA was about 50 cows. Yes some much larger but many much smaller herds. And many of these smaller herds who were selling many of the nations beef calves are reducing their herd size or going out of business for a variety of reasons including drought, owners age, etc.

Also, current land prices in many areas just can't be economically justified by having cattle. Pastures are sold and going to wall-to-wall government insured corn. Or they're going to houses or cabins or whatever but not to beef cows.

Overseas imports are not the answer either. More and more people want to know where their food is coming from and how it is produced. We require a label on where our underwear is made, sooner or later, realistic meat labeling will be here.

So as above, keep on keeping on. But I would not expect a big drop in beef breed feeder calf prices anytime soon. The correction will have to happen with higher prices further up in the beef production chain.

jmho.