The idling of several packing plants is now having a trickledown impact through the value chain. After Smithfield closed its Sioux Falls pork packing plant, its also closed a plant in Missouri that makes ham and processed products and a plant in Wisconsin that makes bacon and sausage. Both receive raw material from Sioux Falls. Likewise, a Cargill case ready plant in Pennsylvania has also been idled. These of course are in addition to the actual slaughter operations that are idled. The table below, which we have been updating daily, shows the facilities impacted.
Of course, the impact of interrupted plant operations is trickling upstream to the livestock markets. Meat prices are on a roller-coaster ride. Prices for certain cuts went from...
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...
