Industry Headlines

Meat industry associations quick to attack the new MCOOL rule

Jeremy Russell, NAMA directory of communications and government relations, said, “This Final Rule is not significantly different from the Proposed Rule. It will exacerbate costs, particularly for independent packers that need to commingle animals to run their plants near capacity. ... Full story.

Cattle on Feed numbers remain lower

USDA-NASS released the monthly Cattle on Feed report on May 17, 2013. The report documented cattle and calves on feed on May 1 for slaughter market in the U.S. for feedlots with capacity of 1,000 head or more, cattle placements on feed during April, and fed cattle marketings during April. Prior to the report, news agencies such as Dow-Jones and Bloomberg survey industry market analysts for their predictions of the three categories. ... Full story.

Beef exports depend on quality reputation

Dan Halstrom, U.S. Meat Export Federation, talks about the value of exports and the reputation U.S. beef has overseas. ... Full story.

Monday Market Sentiment: Weekly predictions may show market peak

Two consecutive weeks of losses have the cash market $3.63 per cwt lower than the last week of April. Beef packers have taken advantage of the high beef prices as they continue to improve with margins at nearly $50 per head last week. Wholesale beef prices continue to reach record highs, topping $210 Monday, but analysts are beginning to wonder if a peak has been reached. ... Full story.

USMEF board meeting kicks off Wednesday in D.C.

The spring meeting of the U.S. Meat Export Federation (USMEF) Board of Directors is set for May 22-24 in Washington, D.C. ... Full story.

U.S. food labels seen heating up North America meat war

The United States is poised to introduce stricter rules on the labeling of meat imports this week, a move that is likely to heat up a simmering trade dispute with Canada and Mexico. ... Full story.

Corn planting pace turns from record slow to record fast

Drier weather last week gave farmers the opportunity they needed to make up for lost time. After struggling for weeks against the wetter weather, they were able to get 71 percent of the corn in the ground. ... Full story.

Packer margins jump higher, feeding margins bleak

Higher wholesale beef prices helped drive beef packer margins significantly higher last week, but cattle feeding margins saw only minimal improvement. Average pork producer margins remain positive. ... Full story.

Boxed beef run continues; feedlot inventories down less

Choice boxed beef finished last week at a record weekly average of $207.49/cwt., up $4/cwt. from last week and up $17/cwt. from the recent lows last month. Though this market may be near a peak, the strength and duration of the recent run has been impressive and sets the stage for a stronger summer beef market. ... Full story.

Survey reveals most Americans in favor of COOL

A survey by the Consumer Federation of America shows 90 percent of Americans are in favor of requiring companies to list the origin of the fresh meat they sell on the label. ... Full story.

Meat and climate change: How significant is the impact?

It is a commonly used refrain amongst activists and the media: “Meat causes more global warming than everything else combined” or “contributes 51 percent of the greenhouse gases responsible for climate change.” ... Full story.

D.C. Watch: Farm bill progressing

The Senate Agriculture Committee made quick work of the farm bill last week. Passage by the full Senate is likely by this week. The House Agriculture Committee also passed a version of the farm bill last week, and it could come to the House floor in June.



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