COVID-19 has impacted most every aspect of our economy and the beef cattle market was no exception. The impacts of COVID on both supply and demand, coupled with an extremely high level of uncertainty, resulted in price variation on a daily basis that is seldom seen in cattle markets. It was clear that a need existed for frequent market updates during the pandemic and this also provided an opportunity to increase my profile, so that stakeholders knew I was continuing to work for them, although I was unable to deliver face-to-face programming.

I began writing a weekly market update each Friday after USDA-AMS posted their weekly market summary for KY. This report would typically walk through the major market drivers, provide a quick update on Kentucky feeder cattle and cull cow prices, and offer a short perspective on some aspect of the cattle market (stocker operations, slaughter capacity, government programs, etc.)  A total of 11 market updates were written from the second week of April through the end of June and sent to county ANR agents and KFBM specialists. Many of these individuals commented on how useful the updates were and a lot of them sent them directly to their clientele via email, social media, or through newspaper columns. These updates were also sent out through the Kentucky Cattleman’s Association, with an average reach for each update of 1,529.

Additionally, I started doing a short bi-weekly video that was shared through the AEC Facebook page (and initially through youtube). These were typically 5-10 minutes long and were intended to provide a quick update on the market. Fortunately, they were shared a great deal on social media and were able to reach a large number of individuals. I did a total of five market vides during the second quarter and the uptake was very encouraging as each video had an average reach of 3,337.