James R. Baker, administrator of USDA's Grain Inspection, Packers and Stockyards Administration, recently asked Texas and Southwestern Cattle Raisers this question.
Contracting is just like a runaway train.
Baker says the rest are going into some kind of alliance, and mostly under contract. The best we can tell, probably about a third of the cattle are under a contract or alliance. Internet cattle sales also promise to be a major influence. Baker predicts that sales on the Web will have a big impact on the industry within five years. The Web is a lot faster and accesses a lot more people, Baker says.