Today’s WASDE showed USDA’s combined red meat and broiler production forecast down 1.5 percent from 2019, and down 2.8 percent from the March WASDE forecast pre-COVID. Compared to last month, beef is up 90 million pounds, broiler meat up 50 million pounds and pork production down 80 million pounds.
Beef is up because of the rate of slaughter which is being driven by the amount of cattle coming off feed yards. After the COVID break, along with drought conditions in the Plains, feed yards got very front loaded. The pork estimate is reduced based on slower slaughter and lighter weights; producers did a good job of keeping weights in check when the packing plants backed up, much of that by cutting back on protein such as soymeal...
What You Need to Know Today: Russia rejected calls for a ceasefire in the Black Sea, including a proposal to halt attacks on civilian shipping that could help restore grain flows from Ukrainian ports. Tyson Foods announced plans to permanently close its Joslin, Illinois, beef processing facili...
The big news in the cattle markets yesterday was Tyson Foods’ move to close two more beef plants. One of them, the Joslin, Illinois, plant was shuttered immediately after the announcement. The other, in Eagle Mountain, Utah, is a case-ready plant that does not slaughter cattle. Tyson also...
The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) released the Consumer Price Index (CPI) on Wednesday. In July, the CPI rose 0.1 percent, seasonally adjusted, and rose 3.4 percent over the last 12 months, not seasonally adjusted. The index for all items less food and energy, or the “core” infla...
