The US inventory of all hogs and pigs on June 1, was a record 79.634 million head, up 3.909 million, or 5.16%, from 75.725 million a year earlier, the USDA’s National Agricultural Statistics Service said Thursday in its Quarterly Hogs and Pigs report. The June 1 number also was up 2.005 million head, or 2.58%, … Read More

It’s no secret that US meat production was down in April as packing plant after packing plant closed because of the COVID-19 virus, but a look at the numbers drives the point home. The USDA’s National Agricultural Statistics Service said monthly beef, pork and poultry production plummeted in April, dropping well below last year and … Read More

Few would argue that nutrition is key when raising livestock, yet many cow/calf operators fail to address this adequately, leaving their cows and calves with deficiencies, said Dr. John Pollreisz, managing veterinarian for Zoetis. Zoetis’ web site said it is a global animal health company, delivering medicines, vaccines and diagnostic products, along with biodevices, genetic … Read More

As meat production dropped because of shuttered slaughter and processing plants from COVID-19 illnesses, it seems the nation’s cold storage supplies filled much of the gap between meat production and consumption. The USDA’s National Agricultural Statistics Service Monday released its monthly Cold Storage report, outlining the quantity of various meats stored in commercial freezers around … Read More

Large commodity investment firms, otherwise known as managed money, cut their collective net long live cattle futures position in the week ended Tuesday as hedgers cut their net short position. The data came from the Commodity Futures Trading Commission’s weekly Commitments of Traders report on Friday. Managed money’s new net long live cattle position amounted … Read More

Uncertainty and volatility in the wholesale pork market appear to be tearing at the fabric of butcher hog and feeder pig prices. The weekly pork cutout value from the USDA’s Agricultural Marketing Service and compiled by the Livestock Marketing Information Center in Denver, diverged from last year in the last week of March and have … Read More

Until sit-down restaurants are operating at pre-COVID levels, there likely will be differences in the spread between different primal cuts of beef, no matter the amount of cattle processed, said Brenda Boetel, agricultural economist at the University of Wisconsin—River Falls. Boetel made the comments in a letter to Extension Agents through the Livestock Marketing Information … Read More