USDA released its monthly Cattle on Feed (COF) report Friday afternoon. For the first time in 33 months, the total inventory of cattle in feedlots of 1,000 head or larger capacity was smaller than the same month year-over-year. Inventory 11 million head, 99 percent of September 2018 (and compared to 11.1 million head on 1 August 2019). Furthermore, August placements were way down from last year and below the industry’s pre-report expectation.
August marketings came in as expected, down a bit from the 2 million head reported in July. August, however, had one less weekday than last August and July 2019. Average daily marketings were 88,636 based on 22 slaughter days (excluding Saturdays, but...
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...
