The Cattleman Update

The trade pact, which went into effect Tuesday, eliminates duties on more than 80 percent of U.S. industrial and consumer product exports with the remaining tariffs phased out over the next 10 years. Since these tariffs ranged from 7.4 percent to 14.6 percent, their elimination will immediately make U.S. exports more competitive. More than half of current U.S. farm products such as soybeans, beef, bacon, cotton and nearly all fruits and vegetables can now enter Colombia duty-free and tariffs on the rest will be dropped within 15 years. more…

In the aftermath of staggering casualties suffered during the bloody Union victory at Shiloh, federal armies were advancing cautiously on the critical Confederate rail center of Corinth, Miss., on May 15, 1862. On the same day in Washington, President Abraham Lincoln signed legislation creating a Department of Agriculture. The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s birth 150 years ago Tuesday in the midst of the Civil War was part of an enormous expansion of the federal government during the conflict, one that reflected both a response to the great national crisis and a determination by Lincoln to forge ahead with the business of the nation despite the war. more…

For the week ending May 12, feeder cattle prices at the Texas Panhandle auctions covered by USDA Market News were mixed from $2 lower to $3 higher per hundredweight (cwt), depending on location, weight and quality of the offerings. more…