It was quite a year for beef in 2025. Bob Rodenberger of Stockman’s Livestock Auction in Apache, Oklahoma, recapped a great year for beef prices.
“Historical highs in the cattle business. I mean, we went from a year ago, we were trading feeder cattle at $2.60 to $2.70, and by June, I think, we were trading them at $3.80. At the end of 2025, we hadn’t seen prices that high, and here we are. We put another $125-$130 on the value of an eight-weight steer. These calves, killing cows, in the beginning, everybody made good money. The cow-calf man’s still in the driver’s seat as far as being able to get paid for what he’s actually been doing the last three years, for sure. The stock operator, last year, made good money. His margin’s been cut down now quite a bit because of what the cost, the first cost, of calf is, versus what he’s worth.”
Drought was a well-known factor in decreasing the size of the beef herd and driving up prices for the producer.
“This is one thing we can say. You know, for years, I’d talk to the old timers, and I’d talk about a drought, and they say, ‘Son, you ain’t seen a drought.’ Until we got into the drought of 2012, then I’d have them call and tell me, ‘Now you’re in a drought.’ So, there’s nobody but this generation now that will be able to say, you know, we’ve never seen a market like this, but it’s phenomenal. I mean, we had a big correction that started in September and took $70 off of it. Well, we’ve already got it back, half of that, and we’re still above what we ended 2025 at. We’re still $30 a hundred over that. So, I mean that year ended up great, overall.”
Rodenberger talked about what’s ahead for producers in 2026/
Take out all of the riffraff, all the social media stuff, and get down to the basics, and we still have a limited supply of cattle. We’re producing enough beef, within percentages of that, because we’ve taken a fast tier from making him weigh 13 to 14, and he’s weighing 16 to 16-and-a-half, now. You know, everything they’re teaching in the colleges is so far behind, because everything I pick up and read, you know, it’s 62-and-a-half percent yield on a steer, anyway, at 12-and-a-half, or 1,300. Well, we went way past that. So, I think probably, in general, it’ll be another positive year.”
One thing to keep an eye on is when the USDA reopens the southern border to Mexican cattle imports. However, Rodenberger said the market won’t feel that impact right away.
“You know, there’s a million-something cattle that cross at that time, and even if they open it up this month, I mean, we’re still a year away from seeing any of that product hit the counters at the supermarkets.”