Cattle on feed numbers are increasing seasonally, with 11.90 million head reported as of Nov. 1, up 3 percent from Oct. 1, although down slightly year over year. The St. Louis feed index indicates that cattle feed pricing was largely unchanged in October but notably higher than levels seen a year ago.

As of Nov. 1, there were almost 392 million layers on hand, up 1 percent month over month and year over year, but yield per hen remains strong enough to see stronger YOY gains in egg production: Broiler type eggs in incubators were up over 5 percent, and egg-type egg production was up 5 percent YOY as well.

The decline in soybean meal pricing has improved margins in the poultry sector, and stronger-than-average demand for meal may be seen for a few months due to a lysine shortage. Corn gluten meal pricing is persisting at elevated levels, an issue for both cattle and poultry producers.


Source: USDA
Posted by: Information Services
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