Beef feedlot industry.

Abstract

The United States cattle feeding sector has changed dramatically over time. Movement from an industry largely populated by farmer feeders using livestock to market their grain production to an industry composed of large, specialized, commercial cattle feeding firms has occurred since the end of World War II. Moreover, the industry also shifted geographically, moving away from the Corn Belt to the Plains as farmer feeders exited the industry. Today, the 10 largest firms in the industry likely market 22% to as much as 29% of all fed cattle produced in the United States. The shift in industry structure was at least partially motivated by the advent of improved technology. Successful implementation of rapidly evolving technology often required more intense, specialized management (and in some cases, larger operations) than was available in many farmer feeder operations. The ongoing shift away from live-weight pricing of fed cattle toward grid-based pricing could increase the need for specialized management yet again, encouraging even more industry consolidation in the future.