beef

Even though the Lyon County Fair started this week in a new location, participants are still enjoying showcasing their animals during the livestock show.

A highly concentrated beef market has meant higher prices for consumers and lower returns for the people raising the animals. Some ranchers in the Midwest and Great Plains want a new option by organizing their own processing plants.

The weather event that killed thousands of cattle in southwest Kansas last month was a rare combination of extreme factors. But it highlights the ongoing risk that heat stress poses for cattle, especially as climate change pushes temperatures higher.

The wide ranging plan is entirely voluntary, but leaders say they have buy-in and each of the action items are economically feasible without drastic changes to beef prices or profits for producers, processors and retailers.

Beef prices are rising at the grocery store, but Iowa cattle producers aren’t getting what they feel their cattle are worth from meatpackers. So they're hoping bipartisan bills in Congress will get them more leverage.

Gov. Terry Branstad is slated for a trade mission Japan and China next month to promote Iowa beef and pork products. Representatives of both industries,…