USDA released two key cattle reports today: the monthly Cattle on Feed report and the semi-annual Cattle Inventory report. The surprise in the Cattle on Feed report was the number of placements, however, it was less of a surprise for those who read Matt Herrington’s forecast on Wednesday of this week. WPI’s model pegged the placement number at 102.4 percent of last year. Following is a summary of today’s report.
Notably, June was the fourth consecutive month placements exceeded pre-report expectations. The pace of placements for the first half of the year could start to undermine expected placements in the second half of the year given the state of feeder cattle supplies outside of feedlots (see more on that below).&nb...
What You Need to Know Today: Russia rejected calls for a ceasefire in the Black Sea, including a proposal to halt attacks on civilian shipping that could help restore grain flows from Ukrainian ports. Tyson Foods announced plans to permanently close its Joslin, Illinois, beef processing facili...
The big news in the cattle markets yesterday was Tyson Foods’ move to close two more beef plants. One of them, the Joslin, Illinois, plant was shuttered immediately after the announcement. The other, in Eagle Mountain, Utah, is a case-ready plant that does not slaughter cattle. Tyson also...
The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) released the Consumer Price Index (CPI) on Wednesday. In July, the CPI rose 0.1 percent, seasonally adjusted, and rose 3.4 percent over the last 12 months, not seasonally adjusted. The index for all items less food and energy, or the “core” infla...
