Cattle Market Expected To Stay Strong

A leading market analyst told hundreds of Kansas livestock producers to expect cattle prices to remain strong for many years.

Randy Blach, the executive vice president of CattleFax, was upbeat in his forecast Thursday at the Kansas Livestock Association annual convention in Wichita.

Blach also predicted lean beef prices will be higher in 2012 as the return of wet weather allows cattlemen to begin rebuilding their herds. He says the number of females slaughtered could drop by a million cows during the next two years.

About a third of the nation’s cattle producing regions suffered from drought this year.

Kansas cattlemen also heard a panel discussion about proposals to restructure the state’s tax structure.