USDA’s semi-annual cattle report was issued today. The inventory of all cattle and calves in the U.S. as of 1 January was 86,155,300 head, slightly below—or about 316,900 head fewer than—the 86,472,200 head on 1 January 2025.
This year showed the seventh consecutive annual decline since 2019. Ultimately, that puts the cattle herd down 2 percent from the previous low point in 2014. The total cattle-on-feed inventory for all size feedlots is 13,847,900 head, which is 97 percent of last year. The biggest drop was recorded in Texas, with just 91 percent of last year. Cattle in the pipeline, or those grazing on small grain pasture in the Southern Plains (three-state total of Kansas, Oklahoma, and...
There was heavy volume exiting soybeans, which dragged down the broader market today. The lack of a specific Chinese buying commitment for soybeans undermined speculators who had placed bets on state-directed trade. But even the Chinese do not totally ignore market fundamentals. They may still...
On Tuesday, 12 May, WPI reported on an Executive Order being prepared by the Trump Administration to suspend tariff rate quotas (TRQs) on beef from all exporters for 200 days as a means of addressing high beef prices in the United States. After considerable pushback from cattle producer groups,...
WPI has officially launched Transportation Perspectives as a standalone weekly report separate from our Ag Perspectives articles and analysis. Current Ag Perspectives subscribers will have gratis access to the report through 16 April 2026. Please email us or subscribe online after this date to...