Weekly Roundup October 2, 2026

This week on the Headquarters Range Weekly Roundup, we look at cattle markets following recent packing-plant disruptions, new developments in Florida’s pasture-mealybug response and updated New World screwworm requirements. Plus, we cover the latest from Tallahassee, cattle-country weather and important FCA dates coming up.

Transcript

Copy Transcript Copied

SPEAKER_01 0:00

We rode at a high low foremost of the day. And we made a big circle and brought them all down through the coolies and draws to the big roundup round. River was rising from three days of rain. We brought them through to the headquarters range.

SPEAKER_02 0:24

Welcome to the Headquarters Range, weekly roundup from the Florida Cattlemen's Association. I'm Dusty Hawley, FCA's executive vice president. We've got plenty to cover this week from cattle markets and pack and plant disruptions to important animal health developments. Pasture mealybug work, Florida policy, weather, and several dates our members need to have on their calendar. Let's begin with the cattle markets. The cattle board strengthened through the middle of the week and held on to additional gains Thursday. Nearby live cattle's future finished Thursday modestly higher, while feeder cattle contracts gained more than $2. December live cattle settled a little above $223, and November feeders finished a little above $336. Friday trading is still underway as we record, so those are Thursday's official settlements, not the final weekly close. The bigger market story is what has been happening away from the futures board. Some light cash fed trade developed Thursday. Northern cattle traded mostly from $221 to $222 live, while some southern trade reached $226. Dress trade ranged from roughly $345 to $350. That continued the regional spread between the North and South, with Southern cattle holding the premium. Wholesale beef moved in the opposite direction Thursday. The choice boxed beef dropped about $6 to just under $377, while Select fell nearly $8 to about $353. As cattle harvest begins recovering from last week's disruptions, more beef is entering the pipeline. And that is putting some renewed pressure on the cutout. The slaughter numbers help to tell the story. Last week's federally inspected cattle harvest totaled only about $484,000 head. That was $45,000 fewer than the previous week and $75,000 fewer than the comparable week last year, a drop of more than 13%. Through Thursday of this week, estimated cattle harvest stood at 410,000 head. That was 21,000 more than the same period last week, but still about 52,000 fewer than the same period a year ago. So the harvest pace is recovering, but it remains well behind last year. That matters on both sides of the market. Fewer cattle going through the plants can support boxed beef prices in the short term, but it can also back finished cattle up in feedlots and weaken producer leverage if those cattle cannot move on schedule. Part of last week's disruption came from immigration enforcement activity around major beef processing communities in Southwest Kansas. Federal officials said the operations targeted people with criminal records and final removal orders and were not work site raids. Regardless, reports of enforcement activity around Dodge City, Liberal, and Garden City led many workers, including legal and document employees, to stay home. That slowed processing, delayed cattle shipments, and affected feedlots, dairies, grain businesses, and the broader supply chain. That is an important reminder that labor policy and cattle market policy cannot be considered separately. We support enforcing the law, but federal actions must also be coordinated and carried out in a way that does not unnecessarily disrupt legal employees or the food supply. Feed costs provided cattle feeders with some relief this week. December corn fell sharply Wednesday before selling Thursday at just over $5 a bushel. Lower corn helps support feeder futures, although producers still need to keep a close eye on total cost of gain. Energy prices move the other direction. Crude oil jumped Thursday and diesel supplies remained tight. Higher fuel costs reach cattle producers through trucking, feed delivery, fertilizer, equipment operation, and just about everything else that moves down a road. But CattleFax is also offered a useful reminder heading into the fall calf run. The decision to sell at weaning or retain ownership should be based on expected margin, not simply the highest possible sale price. Producers need to account for feed, labor, interest, health shrink, death loss, and the cost of holding cattle. The objective is not necessarily maximum weight. It is maximum return per head. Here in Florida, the local auction reports show a softer but still historically strong feeder market. Arcadia reported just over 1,000 head Monday. Feeder steers, bulls, and heifers were generally steady to $3 lower. Slaughter cows and bulls were $1 to $3 higher. Okeechobee reported $790 head Monday. Feeder steers were $2 to $12 lower, while feeder heifers and bulls were unevenly steady. Slaughter cows were mostly steady to $5 lower, and slaughter bulls were $4 to $5 higher. The important takeaway is not that the bottom has fallen out of anything. It has not. Florida cattle prices remain at historically strong levels, but seasonal calf supplies, quality, condition, health history, lot size, and the buyers sitting around the ring are creating more separation between cattle. Good management and good marketing still play. Now let's move from the market to animal health and forage protection. We've already spent time explaining why the pasture mealybug is such a serious threat, so I won't repeat all that background. But what matters this week is what science and the response continue to develop. FDAX has now clarified that two related pasture mealybug species are involved. Scientists have identified a newly described species called Heliococcus novovilli, which appears to be responsible for most of the extensive damage being seen. Heliococcus summervili is also present, but in much lower abundance. That distinction shows why careful research and accurate identification matter. We are dealing with a pest we are still learning about in real time. FDEX now reports confirmed pasture mealybug detections in 27 Florida counties. The department has also posted emergency use and special local need pesticide options for pasture and rangeland. Those products must be used strictly according to their labels, and producers should work through FDEX, UFIFus, and qualified applicators before making treatment decisions. FCA continues working to bring the cattle industry together on this issue. We've reached out to fellow cattlemen association and other affected states and are gathering support for a multi-use letter that we sent to USCA Secretary Brooke Rollins. Everyone in the Gulf Coast sees the problem. They all jumped on. Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia all joined us on that letter. Our request is straightforward. This problem crosses state lines and requires a coordinated federal response involving USCA APHIS, State Departments of Agriculture, Land Grant Universities, Researchers Extension, and the affected industries. The goal is not to promise an instant answer. The goal is to make sure surveillance, diagnostics, research, emergency tools, and producers and assistance move at a pace that reflects the seriousness of the damage. New World Screwworm also requires continued vigilance. FDAX updated Florida's emergency animal movement requirements as of September 30th. Infested and adjoining counties are now designated in Texas, New Mexico, and Arizona with additional high-risk areas identified in those states and California. Anyone moving cattle, horses, or other warm-blooded animals into Florida from those areas needs to speak with their veterinarian and FDAX before the animals move. Depending on the point of origin, the requirements can include prior state permission, a current vet inspection certificate, treatment documentation, and specific screw worm language on the paperwork. Screwworm and pasture mealybug are very different threats, but both demonstrate why strong state animal health and plant health systems matter. In Tallahassee, Amendment two continues to be one of FCA's most important messages for the November election. Amendment two is the agriculture-specific proposal that would exempt qualifying tangible personal property used in agriculture production or agritourism from ad valorium taxation. In plain language, we are talking about qualifying farm equipment and tools, not a homestead exemption. This proposal directly affects the people who grow food, raise cattle, and maintain Florida's working lands. It will require 60% voter approval, so we need our members to understand it, talk about it, make sure their friends and neighbors understand the difference between Amendment 2 and the separate homestead proposal. Like past President Woody Larson always says, tell your city cousins and your country cousins. We also appreciate Commissioner Wilton Simpson and FDAX continuing to protect working agriculture land through the Rural and Family Lands Protection Program. More than 4,500 additional acres were approved for protection this week, followed by another Polk County ranch on Thursday. These conservation easements keep land in private ownership and agriculture production while protecting it from future development. A reminder for anyone hauling agricultural commodities. The current Florida Department of Transportation emergency road use permit remains in effect through Tuesday, October 6th. It provides temporary weight relief for qualifying vehicles hauling cattle, feed, hay, fertilizer crops, forestry products, and other ag commodities. Haulers still need the proper permit information and bridge restriction map, and posted route and bridge limits continue to apply. FCA and our agriculture partners are also continuing to work with Commissioner Simpson and FDAX on the possibility of allowing red-dyed diesel for certain in-state agriculture hauling. That relief has not been finalized as of this recording, but it remains one of the items being pursued. Turning to cattle country weather, much of Florida remains warm, humid, and unsettled. Scattered showers and thunderstorms are expected across central and South Florida through the weekend and into next week. Some locations may receive heavy downpours, but the coverage will remain uneven. That unevenness is reflected in the newest U.S. drought monitor. Parts of South Florida improved after receiving several inches of rain, while some other areas of the state remain dry or worsened slightly. Across a broader cattle country, conditions are much more serious. Drought has intensified across much of Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, Tennessee, and Georgia. Large portions of Texas and Oklahoma are now experiencing severe, extreme, or exceptional drought. That will continue influencing pasture availability, hay demand, winter grazing decisions, cow culling, and whether producers retain replacement heifers. Tight cattle numbers may support the market, but drought and forage availability will determine how quickly the national cow herd can rebuild. On the tropical side, the National Hurricane Center reported no active tropical cyclones in the Atlantic, Caribbean, or Gulf as of Friday morning. That is welcome news, but hurricane season is not over, and we still need to stay prepared. Now, for a few FCA updates and dates to remember, our district meeting season begins next week. These meetings give county leaders an opportunity to exchange ideas, strengthen their organizations, and make sure FCA understands what is happening across the state. County affiliates are where this association begins. If your county has a meeting, field day fundraiser, youth activity, legislative event, or community project coming up, please let us know. We want to support your meeting when we can. Send a FCA representative when possible and highlight your county's work in the Florida Cattlemen and Lifestock Journal. While you are talking with the office, make sure your FCA membership is current. Membership supports the policy work, communication, representation, and service FCA provides, and it keeps a magazine coming to you. The November issue will contain important information about our annual convention. For cattle producers who also own or manage pine timber, the application deadline for the Florida Forest Service Southern Pine Beetle Assistance and Prevention Program is Friday, October 9th. Get on it, we're running out of time. Also, have a very important update on the FCA December quarterly in Okechobee. President John Williamson this week has decided that this quarterly will use a one-day format Friday, December 11th. We'll start early that morning, work through the association's business during the day, and finish with the stakeout that Friday evening. We know that makes for a long day, but it's gonna be a very productive and fulfilling one. We did this last December in Marion County. We're gonna do it again in Okeechobee. We're gonna concentrate everything into Friday. Should also make it easier for more of our members to attend without giving up two full workdays. We were share the detailed agenda as it's finalized, but go ahead and put Friday, December 11 on your calendar. Here are three things to remember this week. First, cattle supplies remain historically tight, but harvest capacity, labor disruptions, boxed beef values, and feed and transportation costs can still move this market quickly. Second, the pasture mealybug response is advancing. We now have better species identification, detections in 27 Florida counties, emergency product options, and growing coordination among affected states, but there is still a great deal of work ahead. Third, keep the date straight. The Act Agriculture hauling permit runs through October 6th. Southern Pine Beetle program closes October 9th. One day FCA quarterly, Friday, December 11th in Okeechobee. Looking forward to the next week. We'll be watching whether cattle harvest continues returning to normal, how the cash market responds to the wider north-south price spread, and whether box beef can stabilize after Thursday's decline. We'll also watch for movement from USDA on the pasture mealybug, updates on screw worms, beginning of FCA's district meetings, rainfall patterns. Try to spice it up a little bit. If there's any good news out there or some bad news, we'll try to report on it. We appreciate you listening to the Headquarters Range weekly roundup. Please subscribe and join us again next Friday as we bring you the latest from the cattle market, Tallahassee, Washington, FCA, and Florida Cattle Country. And before we go, here's a little green swamp wisdom. Of course, this week started postseason baseball for the major leaguers. And I know those of us in the South would love to have an Atlanta Braves versus Tampa Bay Rays World Series. The rest of the country probably wouldn't like that too much, but we'd get kicked out of it. Anyway, it reminds me of one of my favorite quotes from Bull Durham that also applies to life, the cattle business, but certainly baseball. Sometimes you win, sometimes you lose. Sometimes it rains. Y'all keep the shiny side up. Keep on trucking.

SPEAKER_01 12:14

I was a loner, drifting town. A girl never figured in my master plan. You came along and you opened my eyes to a feeling I'd never before realized. We found a weird. We are still at the headquarters. I feel at home at the headquarters train. We ride through life, we are to train. If we find the mix of the food, the herd of the dead. And if we give the stylized to be changed, we were talking about the five.