USDA’s monthly cattle on feed report was released today. The total number of cattle on feed in feedlots with 1,000 head or more capacity amounted to 11.6 million head, 102 percent of last year.
Source: USDA, WPI Placements were up, but part of that is attributable to persistent drought conditions in much of the major cattle-feeding regions. Those increased placements would normally be considered bearish, but market-ready cattle numbers are tight, and marketings were down 10 percent. In the first four months of this year, through April, cattle slaughter was down 870,000 head, or 8.6 percent. Based on one less slaughter day in 2026, that nets out to a drop of 7.5 percent. April fed beef production was down 6.5 percent, and non-fed beef...
What You Need to Know Today: The hot, dry weather forecast continues to drive strength in grain futures with corn and soybeans hitting another day of strong gains. Monday’s Crop Progress and Conditions data were in line with market expectations and showed relatively few concerns for the...
Yesterday we wrote about the Q1 GDP numbers and the June employment reports in an article entitled Real GDP for Q1 Relying on AI Buildout, Held Back by Consumer Spending. That article mentioned that consumer spending had become a drag on GDP. Nonetheless, real GDP in Q1 was revised upward to 2...
Key Takeaways: The Middle East and North Africa's arid climate and limited water resources have created a structural dependence on imported wheat. Government wheat tenders in major importing countries serve as important benchmarks for global trade, providing insight into exporter competitivene...
