Price protection options for West Virginia beef cattle producers

The purpose of this study was to determine if a price protection option would be beneficial to West Virginia's beef cattle industry. Fourteen years of price data were used to determine an average price for cattle based on weight, sex, breed and grade. The study used cattle lots of 9,000 pounds or greater with individual weights of 600 pounds or greater. Four case studies were used to analyze individual producer prices against the state averages. It was found that by comparing individual price data with the state sale averages that pricing trends could be determined to identify years when prices were a challenge to producers. This allowed conclusions to be made on the use of price protection options. It was also found that when cattle are fed to reach the 800 pound level that they are at less price risk than when they are sold at 600 to 700 pound groups.