After suffering through lower prices in 2015 and 2016, the cattle industry is en­­joying better times this year, said Nevil Speer, an analyst with AgriClear Inc.

"This has been an incredible turnaround, and it’s kind of fun to be on the other side of positive things after you went through this incredible decline through 2015 and 2016," Speer told attendees at the Iowa Cattlemen’s Association BeefMeet in Ottumwa last week.

After dipping $70 per hundredweight from the beginning of 2015 to October 2016, fed cattle market prices have risen from the low of about $100 per hundredweight to about $145 per hundredweight, Speer noted.

Kansas State reports are also showing positive returns for feeders of...