Latest / CattleUSA Daily / 219: Unpack the Cattle Market and MCOOL with John Campbell

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219: Unpack the Cattle Market and MCOOL with John Campbell · CattleUSA Daily

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Be Friday and today's episode with John Campbell.
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We are breaking down the current cattle markets, what we have
0:05
been seeing in the live cattle markets over the past week.
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We have some very positive news to share with you guys.
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And then John is giving his candid thoughts on M cool
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mandatory country of origin labeling and kind of his
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thoughts on the hill that a lot of people are trying to die on
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right now. Before we hop into today's
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episode with John, if you guys could take a SEC.
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If you're watching on YouTube, make sure if you're subscribed
0:30
to our channel and like this episode, if you're on any of our
0:34
other podcasting platforms, if you could take a second to make
0:37
sure you're following the show and go right and review it as
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well. And without further ado, let's
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go ahead and hear from John Campbell.
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Welcome to the Cattle USA Daily podcast, your go to source for
0:51
the latest livestock markets, industry insights and the update
0:54
shaping agriculture today. I'm your host, Lauren Moylan, a
0:57
passionate advocate for agriculture, here to keep you
1:00
informed and connected. Now let's dive into today's
1:03
episode. John, welcome back to the
1:12
podcast. I am very excited to chat with
1:16
you today. I feel like one of us is always
1:19
not in our office when we're chatting.
1:22
So this week I'm in the studio, you're with the grandkids and
1:25
your kids in Oklahoma. We're just, we're never, never
1:28
stationary these days. Well, every, everybody's on the
1:32
move, but luckily for you and I, why we can accomplish a lot of
1:36
things we need to do over the phone or over the Internet and
1:40
still go get some work done. That's kind of that's been
1:42
interesting. You know, I never did.
1:44
I never was an office guy. I never spent much time in the
1:47
office, but I can remember when we first got cell phones and
1:50
holy mackerel, because I used to, you know, have a whole list
1:54
of calls at at the end of the day and when all of my evenings
1:58
were occupied on the own and almost as big a news as when we
2:03
got our first copy machine. So if that doesn't date you a
2:07
little bit, you know, everybody wondered how in the hell did we
2:10
ever survive without a copy machine?
2:12
You know, we wore and we about wore that thing out the first
2:15
week we owned it. Too good, too good.
2:17
Well, how has life in Colorado been?
2:20
How was the sale in Lahana this week?
2:23
What's give me the rundown? What's going on with everything?
2:26
Sure. Yeah, everything quite a bit
2:28
better and and it's really reflected in the price.
2:31
We had 45145 cattle this weekend in, in Lahana and man oh man,
2:38
it's just been onward and upward.
2:40
I think with the exception of maybe one day every day in the
2:44
last 8 trading days, the commodities have just been
2:47
straight up. They put money on the fat cattle
2:50
and we're speaking here on on Thursday and they've got them up
2:54
34500 points again today. So I really think they've taken
2:58
a lot of of of of the bad news out of the market and that
3:04
doesn't mean that they can't create some more, but a lot of
3:07
the indecision has been taken out.
3:09
So maybe we got a a case here where fundamentals are taking
3:13
over. And but on these light cattle as
3:16
some of the prices, I'll quote Lauren, we're we're right back
3:20
up bumping against where we were in in October.
3:24
You know we had little four and a quarter weight stairs up to
3:27
560. I called the the steer and they
3:31
have for cabs 15 to as much as 30 higher and they were higher
3:35
last week. You know some 5 weight cabs back
3:38
north of $5 up to 514. We had some steers that weighed
3:42
right at six bring 430. I think last week the very best
3:46
we did was 385. So you know, you're looking at
3:50
some 30-40 dollar jumps in anything that's suitable to to
3:56
to turn back out and you get into the feeder weight steers.
4:00
Why 10 to 15 better some 675 LB steers at 380.
4:06
We had 7 weight cattle on up into the sevens, as much as 356.
4:12
Over on the heifer side in Lahana, some 4 weight heifers at
4:16
473, again, 10 to 20 better. 5 weight heifers to 412 1/2.
4:23
Had some 6 weight heifers up to 379.
4:27
And I thought our feeding heifers 5 to 10 better and we
4:31
had some good ones last week, but 7 weight heifers on up to
4:35
333. Eight quick reminder, we will
4:39
have another special stock cow sale.
4:42
It'll be Friday the 19th. That's December the 19th.
4:47
So if you're listening to this tomorrow, Friday, it will be a
4:51
week from tomorrow here in La Jolla and we'll have 34000 had a
4:57
had a stock cows. You know, going going from here
4:59
N Riverton, WY on Tuesday, really kind of a mirror image of
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what we got done. Some 480 weight steers up to
5:08
five O 1 a day. Also had six weight cattle north
5:12
of $4.00 four 10412. And and Grifton had some 7
5:17
weight steers up to 365. I thought their heifer deal
5:21
pretty much similar to ours, maybe in spots even a little
5:24
better. They had some 540 weight heifers
5:27
up to 416 and some 6 weight heifers no doubt replacement
5:32
kind up to three six and then you weigh today and and and
5:36
Dodge City this Wednesday. Man oh man what what a sale. 4
5:41
weight steers up to 557. Five weight cattle to five O 5-6
5:46
weight cattle 418. They did sell some 711 LB steers
5:53
in Dodge for four O 1 that I thought was outstanding.
5:58
Over on the heifer side, some little 360 weight heifers in
6:01
Dodge at 5 and a quarter, 5 weight heifers up to 490 and
6:07
some 6 weight efforts to 37. So things started out great
6:12
beginning of the week and you could just kind of like
6:15
clockwork plan on everything, just get a little higher as the
6:19
week went along. And we're going to have another
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outstanding run in Lahata next week on Tuesday.
6:25
And man, I just looked for the thing to be higher again.
6:30
Absolutely. It is extremely refreshing to
6:32
look at the market and how things are showing up in the
6:36
sale barns right now and see some people actually be able to
6:39
have some higher days, especially after dropping so
6:42
much like we did a few weeks ago during CAF run.
6:46
I'm, I'm very grateful and I know a lot of producers out
6:48
there are that we were able to recover a little bit before all
6:52
of this was. Over exactly.
6:53
And like you and I talked off the air a little bit, like I
6:56
really think we'll, we'll see some higher highs as we go
7:00
along. You know, these light cattle are
7:02
just going to get harder and harder to find.
7:04
And the closer we get to grass, why the demand just gets better.
7:08
It always does every year and may not be enough of those
7:12
little light guys to go around. So anyway, I, I think good news
7:16
for any producer that's still got some cattle weighing under
7:19
£600. I think the good times maybe are
7:23
still yet to come on these turn out cattle.
7:26
Wonderful to hear. Well, John, switching into our
7:30
our current events topic, I'm just going to let you take it
7:34
away and we'll go from there. What do you have to say about M
7:38
Cool John? Well, First off, I, you know, it
7:41
has been at least a week since I've pissed everybody off.
7:44
So I thought, why don't you bring up everybody's sacred cow,
7:48
which is cool. And you had a had a guest.
7:52
I don't know how long it's been several days ago, but Emma, I
7:55
believe was her name. And I apologize, I don't know
7:57
what her last name is, but really did a pretty good job of
8:01
really explaining the insurance and outs and the why we have why
8:04
we don't have it in, in cool. So if you get a chance, go back
8:08
and listen to her, because it's really more a bigger turn of the
8:11
fence than the government than the Packer, than the this, than
8:15
the that it it, it really stems from a lot of the information
8:18
that that she puts out there. And I think she did a good job.
8:21
But I'll qualify a little bit. My thoughts.
8:25
Is it a good idea? You know, I think of course it
8:28
is, but is it the hill what we should die on?
8:31
And is it one of the most important issues that that I
8:35
think we face as an industry? Absolutely not.
8:39
But boy, every word you turn to, every podcast you go to,
8:42
everyone you talk to, it's we need him cool.
8:45
We need him cool. And I and I think it is a good,
8:47
good idea, but you know, it is a big deal to all of us.
8:53
But you know what, what I always tell people is go open up your
8:57
refrigerator or you're cupboard and tell me what country every
9:01
everything comes from. You know, more, more
9:04
realistically and more importantly, do do you even
9:07
care? You know, when you pull that
9:09
iceberg lettuce out of the refrigerator, do you say, hmm,
9:14
oh, oh, this came from Mexico. You know, what the hell did I
9:17
buy that? I mean, there's other things on
9:19
your priority list and the things that you're doing when
9:23
you're shopping, then what the country of, of, of origin may
9:27
be. And you know, I'd like to wave a
9:30
wave my flag and beat my chest and say that, well, beef is
9:34
really different. And, and no doubt to all of us,
9:37
it is a big deal, But I don't think the masses, they kind of
9:41
believe that if it's on the grocery shelf, it's probably fit
9:46
to eat. And you know, no, no question.
9:49
Everybody remembers when COVID came around and my guys, the
9:52
little independent packing plants were backed up for two
9:55
years and that that scene really did develop an, a niche market.
10:01
And I think a small percentage of, of, of what I feel is
10:05
probably the most affluent consumers, there's no question
10:10
they'll, they'll pay a premium for US source food.
10:14
But I also think a lot of them are, are buying direct and not
10:19
really because of of the label. You know, they're going to ranch
10:22
to rail deal on something they've seen advertised.
10:25
And, and they like the fact that, you know, Lauren has a,
10:30
you know, a Highlander cap out there named Spike and she can
10:33
pet it and feed it out of a bucket.
10:35
And to disregard the fact that you just mainlined her with
10:40
Thailand, you know, to keep her alive 2 weeks ago.
10:43
Anyway, there's a segment of the population that has got the
10:47
money and, and, and they feel that is important and more, more
10:50
power to them. You know, we import so much food
10:54
into this country. I was reading, you know, we
10:57
import food from 200 different countries.
11:01
Just, I mean, it's just unbelievable. 32% of all our
11:05
vegetables are imported, 55% of all our fruit comes from
11:12
somebody, someplace else, some other country, and 94% of of the
11:18
total seafood that we consume is imported.
11:21
And Warren, if I learned anything from Colorado State
11:25
University, it would be that you can fill several small city
11:30
libraries with the volume and volumes of printed food labeling
11:35
laws and regulations. And you know it.
11:39
There is a books wrote on it and agencies and regulations
11:43
surrounding that. Like I said, you couldn't throw
11:46
a rock over all the piles of of printed material about labeling
11:51
laws. And I really think if you know,
11:54
if M cool becomes mandatory, all of these agencies and
11:59
regulators, why you know, they're they're just going to
12:02
have a they're going to have a field day, you know, things like
12:04
where is the label located on the product?
12:07
How big is the print size? Have you ever looked at the back
12:10
of some of those labels and see product of USA?
12:14
Why cripes H you'd need a microscope in order to read it.
12:19
And also, how is it worded? And all of those things, the
12:23
answer to all of those questions are really life and death
12:26
decisions to any label. And so they're very, very
12:30
important. But boy, oh boy, sometimes they
12:33
can be really, really hard to find on the product.
12:37
And another thing, what we think is important to the consumer on
12:41
the label and what they think's important might be two different
12:45
things. Where was the animal born and
12:48
bred? Where was it raised?
12:50
Where was it fed? Where was it processed?
12:53
Where was it packaged and where was it distorted and distributed
12:57
from? You know, each one of those has
13:02
a different amount of significance to the consumer.
13:04
Me myself. Well, yeah, that was fine.
13:07
I, that was great. It was born and bred in Nogales,
13:09
but LA they, they took it down to Hermosillo to cut its head
13:13
off. And then, well, hell, I'm out
13:16
then, you know, so. But all of those things have to
13:18
be addressed with some kind of a label and, and it gets pretty
13:22
involved. I, I thought kind of as an
13:25
example, I thought we'd look at my personal favorite and
13:29
everybody's favorite Folgers coffee.
13:32
You know, I go through or in some real emotional trauma and,
13:37
and I have to make some pretty big buying decisions based on
13:41
that Folgers label. And the first one is drop my
13:46
deal. That's that.
13:47
That's how emotional I am. I mean, this is dramatic, this
13:50
labeling deal. And sure as hell why the beans
13:54
in my coffee come from Honduras. Well, hell, you know.
13:59
And then I asked a question. Well, do they use child labor?
14:03
Do they cut down a tree or worse yet, collect the beans in a
14:06
plastic sack? Is Juan Valdez his real name?
14:10
And does he have a green card? You know, I also wonder, does he
14:15
use biodegradable wipes in the bean field or just wipe his ass
14:19
with a tube sock? Does he lope his mule or beat
14:23
his donkey with a stick? These things are important, and
14:26
the label can bring that out, You know, what if Wanda or his
14:30
donkey, either one, have screwworm?
14:31
You know, it's so helpful that this label is also printed in
14:36
English, Spanish, Japanese, Chinese, chimpanzee and Ubanki.
14:42
And I'll be sure to sort my trash and recycle the the
14:46
container because it was mentioned on the label.
14:49
And remember also the label says if you stuff your kids head in
14:54
this container, he could suffocate or choke on the
14:58
measuring spoon. Glad I read every label and news
15:02
flash, none of us really give shit and which one's the
15:05
cheapest and maybe I'll skip reading every label and just buy
15:09
that one. So that's kind of my synopsis on
15:12
how effective the label is. You know it, it's a feel good
15:15
thing, Lauren, and and it makes all of us feel good product of
15:18
the USA. And then but you really have to
15:21
indulge into what the consumers attitude really is.
15:25
And if you think somebody's going to come along and read the
15:28
fine print and everything on this, on every product that they
15:32
buy and before they make the decision, you're, you're crazy
15:37
as hell. Like I, like I said, any one of
15:39
us could go to a cupboard or our kitchen.
15:42
Hell, we don't know where it came from.
15:44
We've got so many other things that we prioritize ahead of the
15:49
country of origin of where the product came from that I don't
15:54
know. I wish it was a big deal.
15:57
I, I wish it was important. And everybody's just going to
15:59
throw down and say, well, let's see, this one has a Canadian
16:03
Maple Leaf sticker on it and this one has AUS flag.
16:07
Which one will I buy? Well, shit, which one's the
16:10
cheapest? They're both 50.
16:12
Throw it in the cart. Let's go on to the next deal.
16:14
You know, and I'm not, but just I guess I miss out on a lot of
16:19
the hype that surrounds this M cool deal.
16:22
And and I don't want to say that that I'm against American
16:26
raised, American born, absolutely not.
16:29
But like I said, I just think that's a fight that I don't, I
16:33
don't know if you win with the consumer.
16:36
Yeah. I think you make a really good
16:37
point about really needing to focus on what our consumers
16:41
mindset on this is because I think that's overlooked often
16:45
enough when this conversation is had, especially amongst
16:47
producers. We want our end products to be
16:50
labeled as it should be. And I totally understand that.
16:54
Like we are very prideful in our product and we have a reason to
16:57
be well. There's a reason we have some of
16:59
the best beef in the world and we're the most efficient that we
17:02
are and all of these things that we do great as united.
17:06
States no question but. I think that you made such a
17:09
good point that is this actually going to be something that is
17:13
worth being a hell that we die on?
17:15
And is it actually going to change consumer behavior?
17:17
Because if it's going to change consumer behavior, that's a
17:20
that's a different conversation. But if this is going to be a
17:24
maybe 10% of our consumers change their mind on what
17:28
they're going to pick at the end of the day, guys, we want people
17:31
buying beef. We want people buying high
17:34
quality protein products in our stores, whether that came from
17:38
the US, whether it came from Brazil, whether it came from
17:40
Argentina, whether it came from Mexico, like it is still a
17:43
product that is in our stores, on our shelves that is boosting
17:46
our economy and we want people buying beef.
17:50
And so I see both sides of the argument with this.
17:53
I think my biggest concern with the whole in cool thing is the
17:58
fact of like, OK, so if we to implement it, what happens when
18:02
we do ground different things? Are we going to have to start
18:05
separating out all of these pens?
18:07
Like what does that look like? And then my other issue on the
18:10
other side is currently if it's slaughtered here in the United
18:15
States and packaged here in the United States, it can be labeled
18:17
as a product of the USA voluntarily because it's cool is
18:19
still a thing. You can still do country of
18:21
origin labeling. It's just voluntary right now.
18:24
And so I think that's my other issue with it right now is the
18:26
fact that it can be packaged here in the United States and be
18:28
labeled as a product of the United States, even if it isn't.
18:31
So that's where my issue comes in.
18:33
And then so yeah, I'll let you. Comment on this thanks.
18:35
Well, everybody wants the, everybody wants the truth.
18:38
But like I said, man, oh man, you know us, we're right in the
18:43
thick of it. And, and it's a hell of a big
18:45
deal to us. And, and, and to reiterate, when
18:48
I said, you know, Warren, do do you really, really go in and
18:53
say, I don't know that lettuce was, that's Mexican lettuce and
18:57
it's, it says product of Mexico on it.
19:00
And, you know, I, I, I mean, I guess I'll look over here and
19:05
get something else. And we all like to think, well,
19:07
beef's completely separate and it's a different deal.
19:10
And well, is it really, I mean, when it comes down to the
19:13
consumer and yeah, if you're just talking about honesty and
19:17
what's rights right and wrongs wrong in labeling, Yeah, sure,
19:22
you know, you know what I mean. But there are so many variables
19:26
as as I mentioned, you know. Well, where was it processed?
19:29
Where was it distributed? Where was it actually raised?
19:33
Where was it slaughter? Where was it, you know, this and
19:35
that. And you get my daughter and I
19:37
stopped at one of these little Casey's deal or something.
19:40
We were driving down here in the middle of the night.
19:42
And Warren, I'm not telling you I I got a which I hate to admit
19:46
this, but I got they call them a wrap.
19:49
You know what they are? They're a Heller damn tortilla
19:52
shell with the bunch or flour tortilla with a bunch of crap in
19:55
them. And I'm telling you what, the
19:58
ingredient list on that thing was that long.
20:01
And I mean, the point size was so small, there's no way you
20:05
could read it. And that's what you're going to
20:07
get into if, and I'm not trying to be a turd to punch bowl, but
20:11
that's what it is. But we are just adamant that
20:14
we've got to get it. We've got to get this in cool.
20:16
We got to get it through. It will be a convoluted mess
20:21
once you get it in there, and then you'll have that very, very
20:25
small percentage of the population that will look at it
20:28
and say your nay based on what country it came from.
20:32
And at the end of the day, OK, you've accomplished it product
20:36
of the US, but what have you really done other than pat
20:39
yourself on the back and satisfied your desire to say,
20:43
Oh, by God, at least we they know it's USB and that's good
20:47
and great. I'm not taking anything away
20:49
from that. But man, oh man, we we sure do a
20:53
lot of chest beating and and a lot of vocalizing about how damn
20:58
important the country of origin labeling is.
21:01
And I just think we've got some much bigger fish to fry than
21:05
that. It's unbelievable.
21:07
Oh absolutely. I mean back to your Folgers
21:09
conversation. My husband goes through a
21:11
literal cup. Not 3 tablespoons, like 3/4 to a
21:16
cup of Folgers a day. Do you think I'm really going to
21:19
buy him the nice $20 bag of artisan coffee beans and ground
21:25
them myself every day and do all that?
21:28
Hell no, absolutely not. He's getting the cheapest value,
21:33
like mega sized Folgers thing we can buy and we go through that
21:37
in a week and a half, two weeks, like that's what we're going to
21:40
get and we're going to move. On with that.
21:42
And here, here you are and here I am, and we're pounding home.
21:46
USAUSAUSA. This shit comes from Honduras,
21:52
you know what I mean? And we don't give a shit.
21:54
We like Folgers and that's what we're going to drink, you know?
21:56
But shame on you, shame on your husband.
22:00
You better get Copilot or Blackbird or whatever the hell
22:03
it is that's raised in South Texas or Florida.
22:06
Hell, I don't know, maybe all the coffee has to come from
22:09
overseas. They say 45% of what we comes
22:13
shipped in from somewhere anyway, you know, So it, it, it,
22:17
it's just not that high on the priority list.
22:21
I don't think of why people do what they do.
22:25
And it, it, it would probably ranked number four or five on
22:29
your coffee list. Your husband wants Folgers and
22:32
by God, he don't care if it's Columbia or Honduras or wherever
22:36
it is. You bring that home.
22:37
That's what that's what I like to drink.
22:39
And yeah, honey, but what about the US coffee, coffee bean
22:42
pickers or growers or whatever it may be, whatever the problem,
22:46
but maybe watermelons, lettuce, Hale, asparagus, you, you name
22:50
it. But you know, when we talked
22:52
about that so much, but we're outsourcing all of this stuff.
22:56
It's no different that we talk about food and that's important.
22:59
But hell, that chain you got wrapped around your neck was
23:03
probably made in Ethiopia or something.
23:05
You know, I'm not saying but and, and, and shame on you.
23:08
You know, in this shirts, Chinese and my pants are made in
23:11
Mexico. And we just, we're not as devout
23:15
as any of us should be, or for that matter can be.
23:20
We just outsource too much. Yeah, absolutely, absolutely.
23:24
And I mean you look at our global market and economy here
23:28
in the United States and how we as a beef economy function and
23:33
produce. We we need that outside beef
23:37
coming in honestly like we need that lean beef coming in so we
23:40
can continue to support a ground market so that we can continue
23:43
to support other markets that need our beef, that we're
23:46
exporting so much of our beef and that's great.
23:50
Pat ourselves on the back for having such high quality beef
23:52
that it is so well sought after over other countries.
23:56
But I think that it goes back to just a World Trade discussion
24:01
and the fact that we do need to still have this beef come in.
24:05
And if we start doing this and we implement it too much and
24:07
this is the hell we're going to die on, are we going to see any
24:10
consumer behavior change? And are we going to see beef
24:12
prices go up because of it? Are we going to see certain
24:15
things get altered and changed and therefore see a bigger push
24:18
in consumer behavior away from beef, Which I mean, at the end
24:21
of the day, we just want people eating beef off of our grocery
24:24
store shelves. Right, right, right.
24:26
And, and, and we have to, I am import beef, but at, at at what
24:31
price? You know what I mean.
24:33
We have to import it if the Packer in the retail want to
24:37
keep it at $4.00 a pound. Well, maybe we don't need to
24:41
import it if we sell it for $7.00 a pound and don't have
24:44
sell so much of it. Yeah, I, I, I don't know that's
24:47
the, that's the $1,000,000 question.
24:49
But but if you implement something like in cool, so you
24:53
better have Travis Kelsey and Taylor Swift be on a hell of a
24:57
promotional deal and Jews running down both sides of their
25:00
mouth and how great it is and which you know, can be done.
25:05
Look, look what the look what the Angus people have done and
25:08
and and and so you know, they they don't have any better
25:13
product than anybody else. Hell, you don't know what
25:15
whether you're eating, you go to a restaurant unless they
25:17
advertise it, if it's Angus or if it's Oriente or Limousine or
25:21
Galvey or whatever the case may be.
25:24
But they have taken an idea and run with it.
25:27
And you know that that goes back to our old deal of as we go
25:34
along a lot of this, we just get more and more vertically
25:36
integrated all the time. And is, is that really a
25:41
positive thing? I don't think so.
25:44
Yeah, you make so many amazing points, John.
25:47
I really enjoyed today's conversation.
25:50
Well, and I actually did sell Juan Valdez that donkey then.
25:54
It's been years ago that he's an old.
25:56
He's old now. And you should have seen all the
25:58
red tape we have to go through to get him to Honduras.
26:01
Boy, I can only imagine. I can only imagine that is that
26:04
will be a story for another time over a glass of whiskey
26:08
sometime. John, I cannot wait to hear it
26:10
one of these days. But thank you for your thoughts
26:12
today. Thank you for candor.
26:13
Thank you for your insight to all of our listeners.
26:16
Thank you for being here for another episode of the Cattle
26:19
USA Daily Pod podcast. Give us your thoughts in the
26:22
comments, which might be a can of worms that I'm opening, John,
26:25
but you know what? It's a can of worms that I am
26:27
here for. So thanks for being here for
26:29
another episode guys. And we will see you all next
26:32
week on another one. Have a wonderful Friday y'all,
26:35
and we'll see you another time. Bye.