USDA released the monthly Cattle on Feed report today. As has been the case more often than not since mid-2023, actual placements have exceeded the pre-report estimates.
Coming into today’s report the consensus estimate among analysts was for placements to be 106 percent of last year’s total. As WPI wrote yesterday, weather last year was expected to have an impact. Weather conditions kept a lid on February 2023 placements, and 2024 January weather led to fewer cattle being placed, deferring them into February. As WPI wrote after the 1 February Cattle on Feed report, as January’s “wet and muddy conditions have improved, it is likely that February placements have rebounded.” And rebound they did. Actual...
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...
