At its 2006 Outlook & Strategies Seminar, Cattle-Fax® analysts made the following points.

• Average per capita beef consumption in the U.S. has held steady at 65-67 lbs for the past 15 years.
• Beef demand growth has been phenomenal since 1999, which has allowed U.S. producers to sell the same amounts of product at prices 25% higher than before. This is what has led to the record high price levels on all classes of cattle in each of the last 3 years.
• If per capita beef consumption remains between 65-67 lbs for the next decade, the market will require a substantial increase in supply to meet the growing U.S. population.
• If this is the case, net beef supplies will be close to 30.5 billion lbs by 2015 compared to 27.8 billion lbs in 2005. Therefore, the U.S. cow herd is expected to grow during the balance of this decade.
• Prices for all classes of cattle will decline from their record 2005 highs during the remainder of the decade. Long-term projections for 2010 are as follows: fed cattle, $75/cwt; feeder cattle, $90/cwt; feeder calves, $100/cwt.