Grand Island Fire Department Battles Blaze at JBS Beef Plant in Nebraska

On Sunday evening, a fire broke out at the rendering section of JBS’s beef plant in Grand Island, Nebraska. According to a recent tweet from the Grand Island Fire Department, fresh crews have been called to the scene to battle the blaze.

On a Facebook post, JBS stated, “As of this time fabrication and slaughter A and B shift will not be working September 13, 2021. We will...

ANALYSIS: The Ebb and Flow of YoY Chicken Production

So far, 2021 has been a long and drawn-out year for those in the chicken industry...

ANALYSIS: Tallying up Turkey Production

In light of seasonally stout performance, this week we thought a dive into the production side of the equation to investigate how it is influencing the '21 market was in order...

ANALYSIS: Lackluster Cattle Slaughter, Tight Supplies Lift Boxed Beef Prices

For those monitoring cattle slaughter levels, there is a common takeaway that processing capacity has not yet recovered to pre-pandemic levels. Production and distribution challenges due to ongoing labor shortages may...

ANALYSIS: Cash Hog Prices Decline from Summer Peak But Remain Well Above Year Ago Levels

The summer peak for negotiated cash hog prices on a national basis was achieved on June 22 at $128.04/cwt. Since peaking, spot prices have since declined by around...

Pork Quarterly Q3 2021: Looking for Growth Amid Uncertainties

Great volatility in Chinese hog and pork prices is rippling through the global market. China’s slaughter rates were unexpectedly high in Q2, pushing pork production up 35.9% YOY in 1H, according to official data. The sudden supply increase resulted in a sharp price decline and negative results in both farming and trading in 1H, pointing to low pork imports into China in Q3. While we expect hog and pork prices to rebound in Q3, the estimated high frozen pork inventory will impose a lot of downward pressure on prices. We expect the slowdown of imports in the coming months will reduce full year imports from 2020’s record levels by 10% to 20%. This will lead to a redistribution of pork trade in the global market and could place downward pressure on pork prices in exporting regions.

USDA Announces $500 Million for Expanded Meat and Poultry Processing Capacity

The USDA announced it intends to make significant investments to expand processing capacity and increase competition in meat and poultry processing to make agricultural markets more accessible, fair, competitive, and resilient for American farmers and ranchers. This is one of several key steps that USDA will take to increase competition in agricultural markets, pursuant to President Biden’s Executive Order on promoting competition and as part of USDA efforts to build a more resilient supply chain and better food system. Together, USDA’s actions will help farmers, ranchers, farmworkers and consumers all get a fair shake.

Specifically, USDA announced its intent to invest $500 million in American Rescue Plan funds to expand meat and poultry processing capacity so that farmers, ranchers, and...