Today’s WASDE showed USDA’s red meat and broiler production forecast up from last month. Last month’s WASDE total beef, pork and broiler production estimate for 2020 was bumped up to be 0.05 percent greater than 2019. This month it is projected to be 1.7 percent ahead of last year, with a reduction in beef more than offset by pork and broilers, though broiler production is down the most from the pre-COVID March estimates.
Forecast end-of-year average live animal prices are very bearish.
Pork exports are a safety net for hogs. China is still in the market and buying whole/half carcasses and bone-in hams that don’t take as much labor in the packing plant which helps relieve some back log. Mexico, the...
What You Need to Know Today: The U.S. and Iran exchanged strikes, with the U.S. hitting Iranian bridges, energy sites, and military infrastructure. Iran launched a missile into Kuwait that damaged a desalination plant. Crude oil futures surged on heightened Middle East tensions, providing supp...
Congress returned this week from its Fourth of July recess, with another break scheduled for the month of August, to face a busy agenda before adjourning for the August recess. Congress has several priorities, including the National Defense Authorization Act, a potential third reconciliation pa...
There was a time, not so long ago, when you could easily explain U.S. agricultural policy. It was countercyclical and focused on risk management, especially for traditional row crops. There were a few exceptions, like dairy and sugar, which maintained the remnants of supply control. Participati...
