USDA released the monthly Cattle on Feed report today. The numbers came in very close to the pre-report expectations, making the report neural. Placements were the only category off from the consensus expectation, but only 1 percent higher than the estimate. The key point is the supply of feeder cattle remains tight, and placements are continuing to decline since the spike in February which was the result of poor weather in January which led to deferred placements.
A point of context for the fed cattle/feedlot situation, the large decline in cow slaughter this year has put a dent in the weekly slaughter totals. This week’s estimated slaughter at 607,000 was down 18,000 head (2.9 percent) from the same week last year, an...
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...
