Beef and pork production are starting to rebound, after the big drop in April. Estimated pork production was 2.3 billion pounds for the month and beef was about 1.8 billion pounds – down 11 and 21 percent respectively compared April 2019.
Until the drop in production which started in the second half of March, Q1 2020 beef production was at record levels based on the largest number of cattle slaughtered for the quarter since 2002 and the heaviest dressed weights since 2016. That pushed stocks in cold storage 11 percent higher than the end of March 2019, which came in handy given the production slow down. That still was even close enough to impact wholesale and retail prices. Below is the retail price changes by week versus a year ag...
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...
