Meat Stocks Decline but Await New Demand USDA issued its monthly Cold Storage report just before the government closed for Christmas Eve and while major meat supplies were down relative to November’s report, they remain on trend higher than the previous year. For example, total red meat in freezers were down two percent from November but were two percent higher than in December of last year.
Stocks of frozen pork were down 6 percent from last month but still remain sharply higher (up 13 percent) from a year ago. One exception in the trend is pork bellies, which were up 14 percent from November and 40 percent higher than last year.
Like red meat, poultry supplies were down 10 percent for the month but up one percent higher than...
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...
