Livestock producers and livestock are in for a brutal week as Winter Storm Jayden will drop several inches of snow, after which a polar vortex is forecast to bring wind chill temperatures as low as 50°F below zero in some northern regions.

Oklahoma State University Extension livestock marketing specialist Derrell Peel said from eastern Montana to the East Coast and the Southeast, wind, snow and a winter mix will likely affect cattle, travel and a host of markets in the coming days.

“Beef markets will mostly be impacted by reduced feedlot performance and carcass weights, possible disruptions in movement of cattle to packing plants and potential transportation delays of products through wholesale and retail markets,” he said.

Further, Peel said production losses due to winter weather can reduce beef supplies and may have residual impacts for several weeks. 

“Individual cattle producers, in feedlots and in the country, will face numerous management challenges and increased production costs,” he said.

Beef demand may also be affected as weather disrupts travel and business, Peel added.

The weather was causing issues on the processing side as well. Even before the weather pattern had completely moved through the region on Monday, Clemens Food Group’s Coldwater, Mich., pork processing plant had posted on Facebook that the plant would have a late start Tuesday in its harvest, cut, conversion and shipping departments.