USDA will release its semi-annual Cattle Inventory report on Monday estimating the herd size for all cattle and calves as of 1 January 2022. Pre-report expectations are that the cattle inventory will be 99 percent of last year, implying 92.5 million head – the smallest since 2017 and above the 2016 total of just under 92 million.
The calf crop is estimated to be 99 percent of last year’s report. Based on the pre-report estimates, 2022 looks to be the third straight year of a declining cattle herd, and given the expected cow and replacement heifer estimates, that streak will continue into 2023 and maybe into 2024. As we noted last week, beef cow slaughter in 2021 had its largest annual growth by percent since 2017 and wa...
What You Need to Know Today: Crude oil prices extended their rally today, supported by several developments, including escalating Houthi attacks on Saudi Arabian oil infrastructure and growing concerns about supply disruptions. The Trump administration is reportedly preparing to remove 50 perc...
Key Takeaways: The agricultural trade surplus has become a sizable deficit: the balance swung from a $40.1 billion surplus in 2011 to a $40.7 billion deficit in 2025. Imports kept growing while exports lost momentum: between 2020 and 2025, agricultural imports increased 45 percent, compa...
USDA released its October Cattle on Feed report Friday, showing 11.4 million cattle in feedlots with capacity for 1,000 head or more, slightly below last year. September placements were the lowest for the month since records began in 1996, marking the third consecutive month of placements sett...
Total Red Meat & Poultry September 2026 total red meat and poultry stocks totaled 1.97 billion pounds, down 1.4 percent from August despite typically increasing 0.8 percent during the month, and were 1.5 percent below September 2025 levels. The decline pushed total inventories to a new five...
