USDA released its quarterly Hogs and Pigs report today with most all categories coming in near pre-report expectations. Total inventory was 75.7 million head, at 98 percent of 1 June 2020 and 101 percent of 1 March 2021. The March to May pig crop was below the pre-report forecasts. Pigs saved per litter were 10.95 compared to 11 last year.
This was the first year-over-year drop in the June hogs and pigs inventory since the porcine epidemic diarrhea virus (PEDv) in 2014. The year-over-year comparison (for this and probably the next two quarterly reports) is less instructive than typical, however, because June 2020 reflected the disruption to harvest caused by COVID. Starting the first week of April, slaughter dropped five consecutiv...
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...
