Total red meat supplies in freezers on Feb. 29 were down about 4% from the previous month and down about 13% from last year, according to the USDA’s monthly Cold Storage report Monday.
Total frozen poultry supplies on Feb. 29, were down about 1% from the previous month and down about 5% from a year ago, the USDA said.
BEEF STOCKS DOWN
Total pounds of beef in freezers, at 442.751 million pounds, were down 28.510 million pounds, or 6.05%, from 471.261 million the previous month and down 58.-32 million, or or 11.6%, from 500.783 million last year.
Of that, 402.767 million pounds was classed as “boneless” beef, down 27.511 million, or 6.39%, from 430.278 million the previous month and down 57.422 million, or 12.5%, from 460.189 million last year.
Another 39.984 million pounds was “beef cuts,” down 999,000, or 2.44%, from 40.983 million a month earlier and down 610,000, or 1.50%, from 40.594 million a year earlier.
PORK STOCKS DOWN
Frozen pork supplies, totaling 456.499 million pounds, were down 6.806 million, or 1.47%, from 463.305 million the previous month and down 65.107 million, or 12.5%, from 521.606 million last year.
Stocks of pork bellies, at 63.824 million pounds, were up 1.399 million, or 2.24%, from 62.425 million last month but down 7.187 million, or 10.1%, from 71.011 million last year.
Hams in cold storage totaled 69.702 million pounds, down 5.173 million, or 6.91%, from 74.875 million a month earlier and down 15.576 million, or 18.3%, from 85.278 million a year earlier.
Loins in the nation’s freezers totaled 41.057 million pounds, down from 452.570 million a month earlier and down from 42.770 million a year earlier.
Frozen pork ribs totaled 87.605 million pounds, down 735,000, or 0.83%, from 88.340 million a month earlier and down 27.863 million, or 24.1%, from 115.468 million a year earlier.
CHICKEN STOCKS DOWN
Total stocks of chicken, at 788.051 million pounds, were down 41.131 million, or 4.96%, from 829.182 million the previous month and down 77.735 million, or 8.98%, from 865.786 million last year.
Of that, 11.151 million pounds were whole birds, down 1.456 million, or 11.5%, from 12.607 million a month earlier and down 1.911 million, or 14.6%, from 13.062 million a year earlier.
Another 233.450 million pounds were breasts and breast meat, down 1.884 million, or 0.80%, from 235.334 million a month ago and down 11.191 million, or 4.57%, from 244.641 million a year ago.
Total pounds of turkey in freezers were up 9% from last month at 330.378 million pounds and up 4% from 317.477 million on Feb. 29, 2023.
CATTLE, BEEF RECAP
The USDA reported formula and contract base prices for live FOB steers and heifers this week ranged from $189.07 per cwt to $189.18, compared with last week’s range of $185.74 to $192.95 per cwt. FOB dressed steers, and heifers went for $297.00 per cwt to $299.60, compared with $290.20 to $299.32.
The USDA choice cutout Monday was up $0.17 per cwt at $310.89 while select was up $0.49 at $301.96. The choice/select spread narrowed to $8.93 from $9.25 with 76 loads of fabricated product and 32 loads of trimmings and grinds sold into the spot market.
The daily weighted average USDA listed wholesale price for fresh 90% lean beef was $336.65 per cwt, and 50% beef was $104.97.
The USDA said basis bids for corn from feeders in the Southern Plains were down $0.10 at $1.40 to $1.55 a bushel over the May corn contract, which settled at $4.37 3/4 a bushel, down $0.01 1/2.
The CME Feeder Cattle Index for the seven days ended Friday was $251.70 per cwt, up $0.32. This compares with Monday’s Mar contract settlement of $249.45, down $0.45, and Apr’s $250.45, down $1.00.