Big Muddy rancher said:
Since your Sandhuskers new mouth I will ask you.
Does demand have nothing to do with the price of cattle?
Sorry, didn't mean to answer Sandhusker's question, but since you asked......
The intersection between demand and supply curves is the price. Those with market power get to play all sorts of games with this scenario since they have so much market power that they can determine the details. It is one reason the Packers and Stockyards Act dictates prohibitions of certain meat packer actions that allow them to capture more of the revenue via profits or market share. Remember, market share is also delayed value, especially if you just knocked off one of your competitors who don't play the game you are dictating. That is what happened with Tyson and Pilgrim's Pride in the poultry market.
If demand increases at the consumer level and all of the increase of demand is captured by the meat packers or some other middleman like Walmart and Sam's, then the increase in demand didn't really help the producers (all other things equal) did it? It was pocketed by someone higher up in the marketing channel. This has been the problem in the meats industry and why so many producers have exited while the industry has become more concentrated and it is the problem with the NCBA's focus only on demand, not what the producers get out of it. Of course it would be interesting to see how many top NCBA people have been getting premiums that others have not been getting for the same quality of animal. We know that meat packers will adjust their formula pricing to benefit those who are supporting them, even if it is economic fraud prohibited by the Packers and Stockyards Act. Then they play the legal game.
Tex