Friday’s June Word Agriculture Supply and Demand Estimates (WASDE) report raised its forecast for total red meat and poultry production slightly over May’s forecast. Broiler production was revised down, while beef and pork were revised up to offset the smaller broiler production.
The beef production forecast is based on the rate of slaughter, which is up for fed cattle and for cull cows. Slaughter weights have followed seasonal patterns, but since April have dropped faster than the five-year average.
For pork, production was raised based on the pace of Q2 slaughter. The Quarterly Hogs and Pigs report will be released in a couple of weeks (June 29) and will provide a clearer picture on hog production for the end of the year...
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...
