USDA’s semi-annual Cattle Inventory report was released this afternoon. All cattle and calves in the United States on 1 July totaled 101 million head, 99 percent of July 2020 – in line with pre-report expectations. Of that inventory, all cows and heifers that have calved totaled 40.9 million.
At 4.3 million head, beef replacement heifers were 98 percent of last year which was lower than the expectation of 99 percent – and moved the opposite of dairy replacement heifers which were 103 percent of last year. The calf crop in 2021 is estimated to be 35.1 million head, based on 25.8 million head born in the first half of the year and an estimated 9.3 million to be born in the second half of the year. That is down slightly f...
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...
