US beef and pork exports opened 2021 below the large volumes posted a year ago, according to January data released by USDA and compiled by the US Meat Export Federation Monday. USMEF President and CEO Dan Halstrom said in a release that January represented a fairly solid start to 2021, but he cautioned that exports … Read More

For the second straight week, large commodity investment funds, known as managed money, cut their combined net long position in live cattle futures in the week ended Tuesday, according to the weekly Commitments of Traders report from the Commodity Futures Trading Commission Friday. Also, for the second straight week, commercial traders, those who theoretically could … Read More

US chicken and turkey production will decline from last year, particularly in the first half, as late-2020 production declines carry over into 2021, said the Livestock Marketing Information Center in a newsletter to Extension agents called the Livestock Monitor. “The prevailing downward momentum for poultry production at the end of 2020 should extend into the … Read More

Fourth-quarter farm income and agricultural credit conditions improved significantly across major portions of the US, said Economists Cortney Cowley and Ty Kreitman of the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City, in a Bank release Wednesday. Despite the ongoing pandemic, prices for several key agricultural commodities increased sharply in the final months of the year, the … Read More

Farmers continue to report strong current conditions on their farms, according to the February Purdue University/CME Group Ag Economy Barometer. James Mintert, Purdue University Agricultural Economist, wrote in a release on the survey that while the overall reading for the Ag Economy Barometer changed very little compared with January, down two percentage points to a … Read More

A look at wholesale beef prices shows that grocers probably are preparing for the spring grilling season early this year. Primal carcass cuts that can be cut into grill-sized products are moving up in price with many showing earlier-than-normal gains.   RIBEYS SHOW EARLY GAINS   Weekly boneless light wholesale ribeye prices last week were … Read More

Large commodity investment firms, known as managed money, trimmed 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 Friday.   FUNDS PARE CATTLE POSITION   Managed money’s new combined net … Read More