Latest News From Hog Prices-Markets

Cattle open lower but off lows. How bearish was the COF and will weather, higher cash trump it?  Hogs down w/slightly larger herd.  Grains open higher then turn mixed.  Brad Kooima, Kooima Kooima Varilek, has more.   

With all that’s been talked about regarding 2023’s trials and tribulations in the pork industry, there may be one final question to ask as we flip the calendar. “Is this a defining moment?” asks economist Lee Schulz.

If there’s any “good” news for 2024, economist Joe Kerns says it’s that it can’t be worse than 2023. Although economists expect 2024 to be another challenging year, some believe it will be a turning point for U.S. pork.

The Grinch is writing closeouts ahead of the holidays as cattle and hog profit margins tumble to their lowest point since the summer of 2020, just months into the COVID pandemic.

It was a seasonally quiet week in grocery store meat departments and up the distribution chain for turkeys and hams, reports Steiner Consulting Group in the Daily Livestock Report. Here’s a look at pork, turkey and beef.

USDA Food Safety and Inspection Service announced on Tuesday that it will extend time-limited trials at USDA’s New Swine Slaughter Inspection System establishments. 

The agency says exports picked up steam this year in countries such as Canada, India and Japan and that the new Regional Agricultural Promotion Program will keep the wheels of progress turning in 2024.

Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack announced updates on how USDA plans to address the complex competition issues in agricultural markets in order to create a fairer playing field for small- and mid-size farmers.

The Panama Canal is now cutting its daily ship transits by half this winter due to severe drought.

Packers applied the brakes and cattle slaughter declined another 13,000 head last week and capacity utilization dipped 9%. Pork producer margins print $7 in the red.

“It’s likely managing a slimmer margin in production agriculture will be closer to the 1980s than the 2010s.”

Falling chicken and pork prices as well as slowing demand for its beef products are reasons Tyson Foods cited on Monday for missing Wall Street expectations for third-quarter revenue and profit, Reuters reports.

A market analyst shared a gloomy outlook for the country on Thursday, saying the U.S. balance sheet and financial condition have been deteriorating significantly over the last decade. He expects more of the same ahead.

The July Ag Economists' Monthly Monitor showed several key changes from June including a bigger cut to corn and soybean yields, a drop in corn and soybean prices and more bullish cattle and hog prices.

The tentative agreement that's been reached with the West Coast longshoremen is of paramount importance for U.S. red meat, says USMEF President and CEO Dan Halstrom. Here's why.

Cattle feeders experience largest average profits in seven years as packer margins dip into the red.

China's soybean acreage may only slightly increase this year, an official said on Thursday, suggesting output is unlikely to match last year's jump due to soft prices.

Futures markets are a mystery, says Scott Irwin, author of the new book, Back to the Futures, is now available for pre-order and is scheduled to be released on April 19 on Amazon.

Chilean authorities on Monday confirmed the South American country's first outbreak of avian flu in poultry, prompting it to suspend chicken exports from the country.

Could agriculture face a Southwest-type meltdown?

Rising wholesale beef prices and declining packing plant utilization are two indicators to watch as the 2023 cattle markets unfold.

U.S. pork exports saw continued growth in November, posting the largest volume and value numbers of 2022. Despite a November slowdown, beef export value sets records in key markets. Here's a look at what's happening.

Demand concerns have been intensifying with the spike in Covid numbers in China.  That’s been sending a negative tone across the energy sector, equities and portions of the ag markets. 

The new year brings fresh market action, but volatility continues to be the main theme to enter the new year. As farmers look ahead, analysts say there are some keys lessons to keep in mind from 2022.

Most U.S. animal protein industry segments have posted phenomenal financial performance over the past three years. However, CoBank’s latest report says this broad-based profitability will likely come to an end in 2023.

Spiking wholesale beef prices the week before Christmas helped lift packer margins into the black while increasing cattle feeding margins.

Despite analysts’ pre-report expectations, for the first time in 2.5 years, the national swine breeding herd has seen a year-over-year increase, according to the Dec. 1 USDA Hogs & Pigs Report.

Of all the challenges coming at the U.S. pork industry in the year ahead, economists agree it likely won’t be the price of pigs. Here's what four industry experts have to say about the 2023 pork outlook.

CoBank has released its outlook for 2023.

Has the hype cooled for plant-based meat alternatives? Purdue economist Jayson Lusk thinks so. Here's why.

Although China imported more than $205 billion worth of agricultural products in 2021, including more than $37 billion from the U.S., trade barriers deterred China’s imports from reaching even higher levels.

Global diesel and distillate fuel stocks have fallen to dangerous levels and the U.S. has been exporting a lot of diesel to Europe and Latin America, but now things are changing.

Grains close mixed with a big rally in soybeans pulling up corn, while wheat ended lower after the WASDE.  Cattle were mixed, hogs set back.  Michelle Rook gets analysis with Darren Frye of Water Street Solutions. 

Grains ended mixed still trying to determine crop size after weekend rains and ahead of crop ratings. Livestock were strong with new contract highs in October lean hogs.

Europe and the Netherlands have been dealing with an increasingly incendiary political situation pitting the country’s farmers against EU government plans to decrease greenhouse gas emissions by half by 2030.

China's second-quarter pork output climbed to 13.78 million tonnes, according to calculations based on official data released on Friday, the highest level for the period since at least 2015.

President Biden says he has not made a decision yet on whether to lift some of the $370 billion of tariffs imposed on Chinese imports by the Trump Administration.

Economists see interest-rate increases raising likelihood of recession to 44% in coming 12 months.

While overall pork exports are down, Mexico remains hungry for U.S. pork. Exports to Mexico have been on fire this year, up 24% in March. The latest data from April shows shipments to Mexico remain on a record pace.

U.S. pork exports are trailing last year's record setting pace.

Dynamic markets. Volatility. Russia-Ukraine war. High feed costs. Consumer demand strength. The issues affecting the pork outlook go on and on. Five economists share what’s ahead for the second half of 2022.

IN-DEPTH MARKET ANALYSIS: Wednesday was a risk-off day in the agricultural commodity markets. 

Biden says Ukraine has 20 million tons of stored grain awaiting export to various countries. He says lack of port movement coupled with halted planting in Ukraine will ignite a global food crisis unless action is taken.

China's soybean imports in April climbed from a month ago, helped by the arrival of cargoes delayed by poor weather and slow harvests in South America, customs data showed on Monday.

Gross incomes for both cattle and hog producers were up double digits from 2020 to 2021, according to a recent report from USDA's National Agricultural Statistics Service.

A 1.9% year-over-year drop in the U.S. swine breeding herd, combined with ongoing productivity challenges, will limit 2022 U.S. hog slaughter and remain supportive to nearby markets, says Christine McCracken, Rabobank.

While China grapples with choosing which production lines to reopen, the food shortage conversation looks to ramp up.

China stocks closed down on Monday, with investors disappointed about a smaller-than-expected cut in the reserve requirement ratio (RRR) that many felt might not be enough to reverse a sharp economic slowdown.

Global meat consumption will decline as inflation squeezes consumer spending because of the Ukraine-Russian War, says Rupert Claxton, livestock and met director at Gira.

As March prepares to make its exit this week, the U.S. pork industry received some long-awaited news. Dale Moore, executive vice president at AFBF, said it’s absolutely good news during a conversation on AgriTalk.