May 13

5/13 – In its first look at feed prices for the 2024/25 crop year, the USDA (in Friday’s WASDE report) forecast corn prices to average $4.40 per bushel, down from $4.65 in 2023/24, and $6.54 in 2022/23. Soymeal was pegged at $330 per short ton, down from $380 in 2023/24 and $452 in 2022/23. Those numbers should improve profitability for both poultry and hog producers – and hopefully encourage a bit more production. More good news came from soybean oil, projected to be $.42 per pound in 2024/25, down from $.48 in 2023/24 and $.65 in 2022/23. But it was mostly bad news for beef. The USDA is forecasting cattle prices to average $188.00/cwt in 2025, up from a projected $183.51 in 2024 and $175.54 in 2023. In Friday’s WASDE, the USDA projected a 1.4% drop in beef production for 2024, coming on top of a 4.7% decline in 2023, and called for a 5.5% decline in 2025.