USDA released its farm income forecast yesterday reflecting lower prices across the board for livestock and poultry.
On the input expense side, purchases of livestock and poultry are expected to drop 7.5 percent to $26.5 billion from $28.66 billion in 2019. A big issue in looking forward on pricing production is the extent and impact of the backlog from the COVID shutdowns. Pork slaughter is above last year’s levels, but there is still a large number of hogs out there. Beef slaughter is 4.8 percent lower than last year, but remains above the five-year average. As we previously reported, the number of cattle on feed as of 1 August was an all time record for the month. September is typically the lowest on feed inv...
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...
