In today’s Beef Buzz, senior farm and ranch broadcaster Ron Hays features comments from Kansas State University Extension livestock market economist Dr. Glynn Tonsor, who recently discussed the latest Meat Demand Monitor and the broader outlook for beef demand and cattle markets.
Tonsor said the latest October Meat Demand Monitor showed relatively little change from September, with some improvement in food service demand but a slight decline in retail demand.
Consumer Financial Pressures Continue to Influence Meat Demand
Tonsor said the October report showed that consumers continue to face varying financial circumstances, with more than one-third reporting that their finances have worsened over the past year. “In October, 19% of the public told us that finances are better than a year ago. 44% said they really haven't changed, and 37% said they're worse,” Tonsor said.
He noted those numbers have remained relatively consistent for three consecutive months.
Tonsor said consumers who report being worse off financially are spending considerably less on food away from home and are including beef, pork and chicken in their meals less frequently than consumers who say their financial situations have improved. “The MDM keeps a monthly pulse on that, and I've regularly been interjecting that because there's a lot of interest in that point these days,” he said.
Beef Demand Remains Historically Strong Heading Into 2027
Looking at the broader cattle market, Tonsor said 2025 was historically strong for consumer beef demand, and that strength carried into the beginning of 2026.
While demand has experienced some ups and downs throughout the year, particularly as consumers deal with higher living costs and broader economic concerns, Tonsor said beef demand remains historically strong. “The most important thing I can impress on everybody is the public's valuing beef way more than they used to, and that's enabling higher beef prices and cattle prices than we otherwise would have expected,” Tonsor said.
He said consumer demand is only one piece of a much larger picture, pointing to changes in how fed cattle are marketed and sold, including the increased use of formula marketing and grid incentives.
Tonsor said those industry adjustments have developed over decades and are interconnected with the strength of today's beef demand.
Tonsor Encourages Producers to Look Beyond Market Sound Bites
Tonsor also cautioned against oversimplifying the factors influencing today's cattle industry.
He said there is considerable outside interest in understanding cattle production, marketing decisions and current cattle values, but those issues cannot be explained through a few simple talking points. “There's lots of connections about how and why we sell and produce cattle the way we do, why they are valued the way they are, and why we have the number of them we do,” Tonsor said.
He encouraged producers and others following the industry to consider the long-term developments that have shaped today's marketplace rather than focusing only on short-term explanations. “You miss some of the most important details that have developed over decades, not just minutes. Like we tend to treat them in sound bites,” he said.
The Beef Buzz is a regular feature heard on radio stations around the region on the Radio Oklahoma Ag Network and is a regular audio feature found on this website as well. Click on the LISTEN BAR above for today’s show and check out our archives for older Beef Buzz shows covering the gamut of the beef cattle industry today.
