Yesterday’s daily cattle slaughter was 110,000 head, up 9 percent from the prior Wednesday’s kill of 101,000 head but down 17 percent from the same day last year (122,000). Daily hog slaughter was 415,000 head, up 5 percent from last week, but still down 14 percent from last year. For the year, cattle slaughter is down 6.9 percent and beef production is down 4.8 percent; hog slaughter is down 1.1 percent and pork production is down 0.5 percent. The backlog at the packing plants is resulting in heavier weights which offsets lower kill numbers. Cattle were up to 1,363 pounds compared to 1,310 pounds the same week last year and hogs were at 293 pounds compared to 286 pounds last year.
This week’s totals are down because...
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...
