Total red meat supplies in US freezers on Sep. 30 were up about 4% from the previous month but down about 4% from last year, according to the USDA’s monthly Cold Storage report Friday. Total pounds of beef in freezers were up about 5% from the previous month but were down about 6% from last … Read More
Much Of US Still Suffering Drought
Despite widespread precipitation from the central Rocky Mountains east to the northern and central Plains from Oct. 11 to 13, much of the contiguous 48 states remains locked in drought, the US Drought monitor showed Thursday. The weekly map showed near-normal moisture conditions in central Kansas eastward. Areas to the north, south or west of … Read More
Beige Book: US Economic Growth Moderate
US economic activity grew at a modest to moderate rate in the period from Sep. 8 to Oct. 8, according to the majority of Federal Reserve districts and reported in the Beige Book Wednesday. Several districts noted, however, that the pace of growth slowed, constrained by supply chain disruptions, labor shortages and uncertainty around the … Read More
September Industrial Production Down
September industrial production fell 1.3% after moving down a revised 0.1% in August, said the Federal Reserve Bank Monday in its Industrial Production and Capacity Utilization report. August output previously was reported to have risen 0.4%. SEPTEMBER OUTPUT DOWN September manufacturing output decreased 0.7%, the Bank said. Production of motor vehicles and parts … Read More
ERS Forecasts More Cow Kills, Heavier Fed Carcasses
The USDA-Economic Research Service’s forecast for 2021 commercial beef production was raised fractionally from last month to 27.832 billion pounds on robust cow slaughter and heavier carcass weights. August’s beef imports totaled 332 million pounds, down 5.4% from a year ago. The 2021 annual forecast for beef imports was raised to 3.187 billion pounds from … Read More
Funds Reverse Course, Buy Cattle Futures
Managed money, a proxy for large commodity investment funds, reversed course and took on a larger net long live cattle futures position in the week ended Tuesday as hedgers acquired a larger net short position. The data came from the Commodity Futures Trading Commission’s weekly Commitments of Traders Report Friday. FUNDS GET LONGER CATTLE … Read More
Holiday Turkey Bargains May Be Scarce This Year
High late-season wholesale turkey prices could put a dent in grocery store marketing programs this year, said the Livestock Marketing Information Center in a posting to Extension agents called Livestock Monitor. Current wholesale whole bird prices in the $1.30-$1.40-per-pound range (up from $1.10-$1.20 a year ago) are consistent with limited frozen inventories and usage this … Read More