A report from CoBank shows animal agriculture needs trade negotiators at the table to build export markets. The report says the recent nomination of a chief agriculture negotiator with the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative is an important step forward. However, Elaine Trevino has yet to be confirmed by the Senate. U.S. animal protein exports have grown from $7.4 …
High Demand for Meat Translates into Mostly Higher Prices
High demand for meat is translating into mostly higher prices. Stephanie Ho has more details. Sponsored ContentCIR Agriculture Harvester ProductsJuly 1, 2025Nuseed Carinata Covers New GroundOctober 1, 2024TriEst Ag Group: Partners in ProfitabilityApril 1, 2024
Potential Propane Problems Should Prompt Producers to Plan Ahead
The National Pork Producers Council (NPPC) is continuing to urge producers to take steps now to ensure they have adequate supplies of propane this winter, with reports of near-record prices and historically low stockpiles of the gas. NPPC is working with the National Propane Gas Association (NPGA) to monitor supplies, which are adequate but may be less plentiful in the Midwest, according …
Increase Expected for Beef and Poultry Production, Decrease for Pork
USDA’s latest forecast shows production of two major meat types moving in opposite directions. According to World Agricultural Outlook Board Chair Mark Jekanowski, beef production is expected to increase. But, he says they reduced the pork production forecast. And when it comes to poultry production, Jekanowski says USDA is forecasting year-over-year growth. Sponsored ContentCIR Agriculture Harvester ProductsJuly 1, 2025Nuseed Carinata …
Checkoff Dollars Important for Red Meat Exports
We told you this week that U.S. beef exports set a new value record in August, topping the $1 billion mark for the first time. Plus, pork exports saw another strong month in August remaining ahead of the record pace set last year. This is great news for the red meat industry, and checkoff dollars had a part in achieving …
Livestock and Poultry Report on World Markets and Trade
Tuesday, the U.S Department of Agriculture (USDA) released their quarterly Livestock and Poultry Report on World Markets and Trade. This report includes data on U.S. and global trade, production, consumption and stocks, as well as analysis of developments affecting world trade in livestock and poultry. It covers beef and veal, cattle, pork, swine and chicken meat. This new USDA report shows that China …
USDA Considering Waivers for Slower Pork Plant Processing Lines
Ag Secretary Tom Vilsack says the USDA is working on a proposal for a waiver system for hog plants forced by a federal court to slow down their processing lines. Waivers that would allow plants to speed up processing lines again could renew concerns about worker safety but boost profits for pork companies and farmers. Vilsack didn’t specify what those …
Signup Deadline for Pandemic Livestock Program is Tuesday
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) wants to remind livestock producers who suffered losses during the pandemic due to insufficient access to processing, the signup deadline for the Pandemic Livestock Indemnity Program (PLIP) is October 12, 2021. PLIP provides payments to producers for losses of livestock or poultry depopulated from March 1, 2020, through December 26, 2020. Here is Farm Service Agency (FSA) Administrator …
Price Spread for Pork Products Increases as Processing Plant Labor Shortages Continue
The COVID-19 pandemic continues to worsen longstanding labor shortages in the U.S. pork processing industry. Because the production of deboned products requires more labor, associated prices are higher than bone-in product prices, which have smaller labor requirements, according to USDA’s Economic Research Service. When labor shortages are severe, as in the spring of 2020, when COVID-19-related infections of processing plant …
ERS Study Shows Meatpackers Role in COVID Spread
A study from USDA’s Economic Research Service (ERS) shows the role meatpacking plants played in the spread of COVID-19. In what ERS describes as a working paper, the study outlined 49 U.S. non-metro counties in which 20 percent or more of employment is in meatpacking, defined as meatpacking-dependent counties. This represents 41 percent of all nonmetro counties with employment in …