USDA released the monthly Cattle on Feed report on Friday with placements in January, the most difficult category to predict and the only category to differ significantly from the pre-report expectations, coming in near the high point of the range of estimates.
Also, total inventory – which was the fourth highest for February – was slightly higher (43,000 head) than a year ago, and marketings were slightly lower (2,000 head) than a year ago. The report did place some pressure on futures, which opened lower on Monday morning. With January placements above expectations – after coming in right at the pre-report estimate in December – the market is back in the pattern of the LH 2023. During that period, p...
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...
