September 3

9/3 - 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, especially with restaurants putting more and more chicken on the menu. Feed prices should help. Corn futures that averaged $6.94 per bushel in 2022 and $5.64 in 2023 are down to $3.78. Soymeal that averaged $440 per hundred short tons in 2022 & 2023 is $311. But chicken output continues to struggle following fertility problems in 2022-2023. Year-to-date eggs being set in incubators are 1.5% above a year ago; chicks placed for grow-out are just 0.9% higher - and these numbers are significantly better than 0% and -0.4%, respectively, a year ago. Total chicken meat in cold storage on Aug 1 was 10.5% below a year earlier, with breast meat down 11.0%, and wings down 22.8%. In the Aug WASDE, the USDA called for broiler output to increase by 1.1% in 2024 and 1.3% in 2025.