USDA’s monthly cattle on feed report for 1 April will be released tomorrow. Analysts’ pre-report consensus estimates are for the total inventory on feed to be 99.3 percent of last year. Those estimates imply an on-feed inventory of 11.6 million head.
The big line item to watch again this month will be the March placement data, as it has been the wild card for several months. But based on Dow Jones' survey of analysts, the range of placement estimates is not as wide this month, and most believe that they will land somewhere around 93.5 percent of year-ago levels, or an implied total of 1.72 million head. It is worth noting that 2025 placements were lower in February, at 1.554 million head, the largest decline in February placeme...
What You Need to Know Today: Markets got a surprise with a corn yield of 181.2 bushels/acre in the October WASDE, above the average estimate of 177.6 bushels/acre and up from USDA’s September estimate of 178.5 bushels/acre. Although stronger demand is expected to absorb some of the addit...
Key Takeaways: On Friday afternoon, President Trump announced that Russia will “immediately supply over 300,000 Tons of Diesel Fuel” to the United States. The deal, typical of this administration, is light on details but promises an additional 500,000 tons in November and 1 m...
The USDA has lowered its 2026 red meat production forecasts slightly while forecasting a slight increase in broiler production. Beef is now projected at 24.802 billion pounds, 75 million pounds less than in September. Cow slaughter is expected to be up; however, this will be offset by lower ste...