Episode Details

BEEF We will start with a little good news. The Santa Teresa, New Mexico border crossing for live cattle reopened today and so far, no issues. The next border crossing will also be in Columbus, New Mexico; no firm date yet but I’d expect if this opening continues to go well, we should see the next one in about 30 days.  We are about to finish September with middle meats, especially ribeyes, leading the way higher. Tenderloins are following up as well. Chucks are showing some strength as chuck rolls are moving higher. Rounds continue to decline and thin meats, led by briskets, continue lower as well. We’ll be in October before you know it. Last week’s beef harvest was 529K head, up from 505 the week prior.  Inventories are still very tight. Make sure to stay ahead of your needs and take those price declines as they arrive. Shaping up to be a very interesting market heading toward the holiday season. 

POULTRY Chicken production continues strong, about 2 percent above last year.  Additional good news: the hatch rate is inching up close to 80 percent, last week 79.7 percent. Chicken pricing is holding steady for another week. I really don’t see anything to push pricing higher, so I do think we’ll see these moderate prices well into October. Avian Flu continues to be an issue; last week we had 4 new cases affecting 140K turkeys. 

GRAINS Grain markets are giving back just a bit from the last couple weeks' run up. Corn closed today at $5.30, down from last week‘s $5.42 but still well above that $5 benchmark. Soy and wheat are down similarly. Spring wheat harvest is about done; winter wheat planting continues. Corn and soy harvest have begun, still a bit early but I do think with new crop arriving it will help keep pricing tempered. 

PORK Pork bellies closed today at $86.51 just up from last week’s close $85.48.  Anytime bellies are below $100 is time to buy. We may see a bit of a rally over the next couple weeks but I’m expecting a softer market for pork well into Q4. Butts, ribs, and loins are all a bit lower for next week as production is picking up with cooler weather. 

DAIRY A little of everything on the dairy markets this week, through Thursday’s CME close, the barrel is up 1, first barrel increase since August. The block is down 6 continuing the trend, and butter had no change. Again, not much I see to push this market higher. 

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