August 12

8/12 – Beef prices are sky-high and look to remain so for the next several years. That’s going to put a lot of pressure on chicken producers to step up and fill in that lower-priced protein supply gap. Feed prices should help. Corn futures that averaged $6.94/bushel in 2022 and $5.64 in 2023 are down to $3.76. Soymeal that was $440 per hundred short tons in 2022 & 2023 is $326. But chicken output continues to struggle following fertility problems of 2022- 2023. Year-to-date eggs being set in incubators are 1.3% above a year ago; chicks placed for grow-out are just 0.7% higher. Total chicken meat in cold storage on July 1 was 12.2% below a year earlier, with breast meat down 11.9%, thigh meat down 12.6%, and wings down 27.0%. Boneless, skinless chicken breast prices (USDA, unsized) at $1.81/lb look to be strong through Sept, and then head toward Nov/Dec seasonal lows near $1.40/lb vs. $1.07 a year ago.