Today’s WASDE made marginal changes to the projections for red meat and broiler production for the second half of the year.
The beef forecast is up from last month on expected slaughter totals, which is offsetting the smaller gap in weights compared to last year. In July, slaughter weights were 39 pounds heavier than in 2023; so far this month they are about 29 pounds heavier. With the corn outlook in today’s WASDE, slaughter weights could increase again impacting overall beef production. While beef production so far this year is down only 1.4 percent to date on the year (forecast down 0.9 percent year-over-year) with slaughter down 4.3 percent year to date, as herd rebuilding starts, fewer heifers will be avail...
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...
