Latest News From Industry

With September being another strong month for red meat export value, both U.S. beef and U.S. pork exports broke the $5 billion dollar mark for the first three quarters of the year.

Smithfield Foods Inc., the world’s largest pork producer, reported third-quarter profit that quadrupled on higher meat prices.

Workshops in Salina and Dighton, Kan., will cover preparation, risk management, and high mortality.

Profit margins declined just $4 per head last week, but are $9 per head higher than a month ago, according to the Sterling Beef Profit Tracker.

Beef production is slated to slow globally compared to pork and chicken.

Cattle feeders saw profits climb to $213 per head after slipping to $175 per head the week before.

Florida's feral pigs have long been considered a nuisance by residents and farmers, but now a rancher is hoping to make use of their abundance, marketing them as a new sustainable food source.

Cattle feeding margins declined $52 per head last week despite steady cash prices.

The marketing outlook for cattle is basically a continuation of the last couple years, with more record prices.

Hog prices slumped to a nine-month low as supply concerns eased and record-high costs for pork chops and bacon eroded prospects for demand.

Profits jumped higher on a $4 per cwt. advance in cash prices despite a $6 per head increase in feed costs, according to the Sterling Beef Profit Tracker.

A virus that killed millions of baby pigs in the last year and led to higher pork prices has waned thanks to warmer weather and farmers' efforts to sterilize their operations.

Most of the cases in the state are the porcine epidemic diarrhea virus. State Veterinarian Dr. Dustin Oedekoven says one is the porcine delta coronavirus.

For the second consecutive month, August export value for U.S. beef and pork increased year-over-year despite declines in volume.

Its U.S. pork operations had a “good” fiscal first quarter, Minneapolis-based Cargill said today in a statement, without giving further details.

Cattle feeding margins improved $60 per head last week pushing average profits above $200 per head.

A seven-year experiment in late-night trading of U.S. hog and cattle futures in Chicago is about to end.

After two years of losing money, hog producers are getting a boost from record corn and soybean harvests just as tight meat supplies send pork and bacon prices to all-time highs and erode profit for buyers including Hormel Foods Corp. and Cracker Barrel Old Country Store Inc.

The tumbling profit margins are a reflection of last spring’s higher priced feeder cattle coming to market as fed cattle.

SDSU Extension has developed tools to help evaluate the relative costs of two different feedstuffs.

Despite the decline in feeding margins, feedyard profits remain above $186 per head.

Second-quarter demand was the strongest for beef and pork in 10 years.

Cattle feeding margins increased $50 per head last week as cash cattle prices improved $5 per cwt.

The August price increases were led by beef, pork and chicken costs.

U.S. red meat exports slowed in July, the first time this year that year-over-year export volumes were lower for both beef and pork.

Cattle feeding margins increased $10 per head last week as cash cattle prices improved, according to the Sterling Beef Profit Tracker.

The bear is awake and has sent prices well below many farmers’ production costs. The issue is not how deep the correction will be, but how long it will be!

Profitability for both cattle and hog producers has been losing steam for the past month, but things could be a lot worse.

The Kentucky State Fair Grand Champion country ham has fetched exponentially higher prices each year since its humble beginnings in 1964.

Beef and total red meat production continues to slide.

Cattle feeding margins declined $87 per head last week, but remain near $200.

Wholesale pork fell 17 percent since reaching a record $1.3756 a pound on July 18 as consumers shifted to cheaper poultry for grilling.

Cotton, grains and oilseeds are the worst-performing commodities this year in the Bloomberg index.

Cattle feeding margins declined $70 per head last week, but remain more than $280.

Cases of porcine epidemic diarrhea virus have dropped, but because it is still unknown how PEDv spreads, many fairs are closing their doors to the swine barn.

U.S. beef and pork exports remained strong in June, pushing export value for both products to a record first-half pace.

Profit margins for cattle feeders moved higher last week while pork producers saw a dip in profitability.

Russia will ban billions of dollars worth of food imports from the U.S. and other nations in retaliation for sanctions over the turmoil in Ukraine.

Declining supplies of pigs that resulted from a deadly virus that spread across 30 states since the outbreak began last year have pushed up retail-bacon prices 10 percent in 2014 to $6.106 a pound in June, the highest since at least 1980, government data show.

Companies seek to gain margins by squaring off in merger frenzy

Profit margins for cattle feeders rose significantly in the past week.

The price of beef and pork keep rising, says economist.

The scare—prompted by a recall at supplier OSI Group LLC, which is accused of repackaging old meat as new—is fueling concerns that China has yet to ensure the safety of its food supply.

U.S. pork and beef exports maintained their strong momentum in May.

Tighter supplies of cattle and hogs combined with improved domestic demand are keeping prices high.

More pigs from Europe and Mexico could be heading to Japan, as a hog virus outbreak is driving up domestic prices, says the country’s Agriculture Ministry.

Despite a $17 per head decline, average feedyard margins remained above $300 last week.

The dog days of summer are nowhere to be found with profits continuing to increase for both cattle and hog producers.

Senior-level buyers from some of the top red meat importers in China and Hong Kong toured the heartland of America.

USDA has given conditional approval to the first vaccine licensed to fight PEDv, and warmer weather appears to be slowing the spread of the disease.