Record Meat Production Red meat production hit a record high for April at 4.522 billion pounds, split almost evenly between beef at 2.262 billion pounds and pork at 2.692 billion pounds. It has reached 17.859 billion pounds so far in 2019, which is 102 percent of the same period in 2018. Broiler production at 13.969 billion pounds is 100.9 percent of the first four months of 2018.
Trade Breakthrough The U.S., Canada and Mexico reached a deal to lift the tariffs on steel imports from the latter two countries to the U.S. as well as the counter-tariffs on U.S. prepared beef products shipped to Canada and pork exported to Mexico. The agreement hinged on Canada and Mexico adopting new monitoring and enforcement measures to prevent s...
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...