The USDA’s World Agricultural Supply and Demand report Tuesday forecast 2025 red meat and poultry production to be higher as stronger poultry and beef production estimates were offset partially by lower pork production. Third-quarter production figures reflect official slaughter and production data, the report said.   2025 BEEF PRODUCTION ESTIMATE RAISED   The 2025 beef … Read More

Weakness in the crop sector weighed further on farm finances, and credit conditions tightened gradually in the third quarter of 2025. According to Federal Reserve District Surveys of Agricultural Credit Conditions, farm income and loan repayment rates in the Midwest and Plains states declined at a pace similar to recent months, said Kansas City Federal … Read More

As the Commodity Futures Trading Commission catches up with its Commitments of Traders reports that were delayed by the government shutdown, it revealed Friday that large commodity index funds, or managed money, decreased their collective net long live cattle futures position in the week ended Tuesday, Oct. 28. The CFTC also reported data that showed … Read More

During the week ended Tuesday, Oct. 21, large commodity index funds, better known as managed money, nudged their collective net long live cattle futures position upward, compared with the previous week. In releasing the data, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission said in its delated Commitments of Traders report that cattle owners, also called commercial traders, … Read More

Steady demand for operating and feeder livestock loans boosted farm lending at commercial banks in the third quarter, said Ty Kreitman, associate economist for the Omaha office of the Kansas City Federal Reserve Bank, in a release. According to the National Survey of Terms of Lending to Farmers, the volume and average size of loans … Read More

The Purdue University—CME Group Ag Economy Barometer Index climbed to 139 in November, 10 points higher than in October and the highest barometer reading since June of this year, said Purdue University Agricultural Economists Michael Langameier and James Mintert, in a release. The improvement in farmer sentiment was attributed to producers’ more optimistic outlook for … Read More

The fundamentals of the current stage of the cattle cycle have not changed: tight supplies, strong demand, and slow expansion efforts, said University of Arkansas Extension Beef and Forage Economist Hannah Baker, in a Livestock Marketing Information Center letter called In The Cattle Markets.   MARKET DATA   Previous LMIC articles discussed the importance of … Read More