According to USDA’s latest agricultural trade data, the overall ag trade balance in March was negative. The U.S. ran a trade deficit of $502 million for the month, based on exports of $11.885 billion and imports of $12.386 billion. It is only the sixth time in the past 63 months, but second time in 2020 and the fourth time in the past 12 months.
The trade data come at a particularly significant time as there are commodity surpluses in the U.S., exacerbated by the COVID-19 situation, but also looming food shortages particularly in the protein sector. A number of major retailers are moving to place limits on consumers’ purchases of beef, pork, and poultry, and Brazilian and Australian packers are eyeing the retail shortages as...
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...
