April Pork Exports Mount; Beef Declines

US pork exports maintained strong momentum in April, led by broad-based growth in Asian and Western Hemisphere markets, according to data released by the USDA and compiled by the US Meat Export Federation. In a release the USMEF said beef exports trended lower in April because of the impasse with China over approving US packing … Read More

An Economist’s Look At Cattle Cycles

The US cattle industry has been characterized by cycles of inventory and prices since the modern ranching industry developed in the late 1800s. Oklahoma State University Extension Livestock Marketing Specialist Derrell Peel said in a letter that there have been twelve cyclical inventory peaks in the last 129 years, with the first in 1890 and … Read More

Canadian Cattle On Feed Total Remains Elevated

The number of cattle in Alberta and Saskatchewan feedlots began to decline seasonally in May but the June 1 total remains elevated, according to data from CanFax. CanFax is a division of the Canadian Cattle Association.  Each month it surveys members in the two Canadian provinces for production data.  It shares the total on-feed total … Read More

Funds Sell Live Cattle Futures Again

For the fifth straight week, managed money, a proxy for large commodity index funds, shortened their collective net long live cattle futures position in the week ended Tuesday. At the same time, cash cattle traders, or commercial traders, lengthened their total net short position, according to data from the weekly Commitments of Traders report from … Read More

USDA Raises 2026 Red Meat, Poultry Production Estimate

The total US red meat and poultry production forecast for 2026 was raised from a month ago, as higher broiler production estimates more than offsets ideas of lower red meat production, the USDA’s National Agricultural Statistics Service said in its monthly World Agricultural Supply and Demand report Thursday.   BEEF PRODUCTION ESTIMATE LOWERED   The … Read More

Early Year Retail Sales Suggest Resilient US Economy

Retail sales across the entire US economy were resilient through the first four months of the year, but food sector sales beginning in March were advancing at a slower pace than was seen since the pandemic, said the Livestock Marketing Information Center in its Livestock Monitor. Economy wide, retail sales were up close to 5% … Read More

Resilience, Not Crisis, In US Agricultural Economy

Over the past few years, economic conditions in some segments of US agriculture have deteriorated, raising questions about the longer-term trajectory of the sector and the viability of many farms throughout the country. However, a Federal Reserve Bank bulletin said, the severity of current public narratives surrounding US agriculture diverges from the signals apparent in … Read More