Public Price Reporting, Marketing Channel Selection, and Price Discovery: The Perspective of Cow/Calf Producers in the Dakotas

Cow/calf producers operating in the Dakotas were surveyed on their price discoverystrategies, marketing channel preferences, and their perceptions of how regimechange in the public price reporting system for fed cattle affected the beef industryin general and the cow/calf industry in particular. Survey results indicate cow/calfproducers consider local institutions (auction barns, etc.) to be more reliable forprice discovery than regional or national institutions (futures market, USDA publicprice reports, satellite auctions, etc.). The auction barn marketing channel is thepreferred channel for marketing cattle and is considered the most reliable sourceof market information by producers. Dakota cow/calf producers perceive livestockmandatory price reporting as benefiting the beef industry in general, but considerpublic price reports to be less reliable than local sources of market information.