Yesterday, Matt Herrington reported on the drought conditions in the west and High Plains. The western U.S. is at its worst drought conditions in 20 years, and the Plains states are also at the worst since the 2012 drought, though state by state conditions are spottier. Below is a closer look at the coverage of cattle country; about 37 percent of the U.S. cattle inventory is in areas experiencing a drought. Pasture and hay conditions are moving to the point of not being able to recover. Overall, 35 percent of hay acreage is in drought areas, and 62 percent of alfalfa hay acreage is in drought areas.
Given the regional breakdown above, including the Midwest (Wisconsin, Minnesota, Michigan), the west (California, Idaho, New Me...
What You Need to Know Today: Commodities were mostly lower across the board today after yesterday’s Federal Reserve meeting hinted at a potential interest rate hike later in 2026. The dollar index reached its highest level in over a year, and a strong dollar makes U.S. agricultural expor...
Tomorrow is the Juneteenth federal holiday, and the USDA, along with the rest of the federal government and the CME, will be closed, so the monthly Cattle on Feed report was released a day early. The total number of cattle on feed in feedlots with 1,000 head or more capacity on 1 June amounted...
