Learn the protein market
A reference for the working vocabulary of the U.S. wholesale beef and pork trade: what the daily cutout numbers measure, how a carcass breaks down, which USDA reports a buyer actually reads, and how experienced buyers interpret the prints. Plain English, written for someone new to the market who wants to understand what is going on before they read another report.
27 articles. Updated regularly.
Cutouts
What the daily cutout numbers mean and how to read the USDA boxed beef and pork reports they live in.
- What is the Choice cutoutPlain-English explanation of the USDA Choice boxed beef cutout: how it is calculated, what the LM_XB403 report carries, and why a buyer watches it daily.
- Choice vs Select beefHow USDA quality grades work in practice, what separates Choice from Select, why the spread between the two cutouts matters, and how a buyer uses the difference.
- How to read LM_XB403A walk through USDA's daily boxed beef report: what the headline cutout numbers mean, how to read the primal section, and where load counts and trim items appear.
- What is the pork carcass cutoutHow USDA constructs the pork carcass cutout (LM_PK602), how it differs from the beef cutout, and what a Canadian or U.S. buyer looks for in the daily print.
- The Choice/Select spread (CH/SE)What the Choice minus Select cutout spread measures, why it widens and narrows seasonally, and how grade-flexible buyers use the spread to time program substitutions.
Cuts
How a carcass breaks down from primal to sub-primal to retail cut, with reference maps for beef and pork.
- Primal, sub-primal, and IMPS codesHow a beef or pork carcass is broken down from primal to sub-primal to retail cut, and what the IMPS code in parentheses on every USDA price line actually identifies.
- Beef primal mapA buyer's reference for the seven beef primals: where each sits on the carcass, what it yields, and how each primal feeds into retail and foodservice programs.
- Pork primal mapA buyer's reference for the six pork primals: loin, butt, picnic, ham, belly, and spareribs. Where each sits on the carcass, what each yields, and how demand is shaped.
- Middle meats vs end meatsThe split between high-value middle meats (rib and loin) and lower-value end meats (chuck and round) and why the relative pricing of the two is one of the cleaner reads on beef demand.
- What is a loadWhat "a load" means in the U.S. wholesale meat trade: the 40,000 pound truckload basis, how USDA reports use it for volume, and why the load count next to a price matters as much as the price.
Trim
Chemical lean trim, the grind formula market, and why trim spreads drive ground beef cost.
- What CL90 means (chemical lean)What chemical lean means in the meat trade, how the CL number is measured, and why a buyer of grind raw material reads CL90, CL73, CL65, and CL50 as separate markets with separate dynamics.
- The lean trim ladderHow CL50, CL65, CL73, CL90, and imported lean trim relate to each other, why their prices move together but not in lockstep, and how a grind formulator reads the ladder.
- Why grind formulas matterHow ground beef and ground pork formulations are built, why a small CL spread move shows up in finished product cost, and what a buyer can learn from reading the trim market.
Reports
The USDA reports a working buyer reads, when each releases, and what each measures.
- The USDA report release scheduleWhat the major USDA livestock and meat reports are, when they release through the week, and how a buyer organizes the cadence into a workable weekly rhythm.
- AMS, MARS, ERS, NASS: who publishes whatThe four USDA agencies a meat buyer encounters, what each one publishes, and how to know which agency owns the report you are reading.
- The Cattle on Feed reportWhat USDA's monthly Cattle on Feed report measures: inventory, placements, marketings, and what each number tells a beef buyer about the next two to four months.
- The Quarterly Hogs and Pigs reportWhat the quarterly USDA Hogs and Pigs report measures, why the breeding herd and pigs-saved-per-litter numbers drive supply forecasts, and how a pork buyer uses the report.
- The Cold Storage reportWhat USDA's monthly Cold Storage report measures, how to read inventory levels by protein and product, and what cold storage tells a buyer about supply and demand pressure.
- What FOB plant meansFOB plant is the contract basis under which USDA reports wholesale meat prices. What it means, what it excludes, and why a Canadian or international buyer adjusts every USDA number for landed cost.
Markets
Packer margin, cattle pricing methods, the cutout-versus-live spread, and seasonality.
- Packer marginHow packer margin is calculated for beef and pork, why it tends toward zero over time but spikes in either direction, and what packer margin pressure tells a buyer about upcoming kill levels.
- Negotiated vs formula cattleHow U.S. fed cattle clear the market: negotiated cash trade versus formula and grid contracts, why the negotiated share matters for price discovery, and what each pricing mode means for a buyer.
- Cutout vs live: how the spread readsThe relationship between the boxed beef cutout and live cattle prices, why the gap (called the spread or basis) is a packer margin proxy, and what unusual spreads tell a buyer.
- Beef and pork seasonalityHow beef and pork prices move through the year on predictable seasonal patterns, what the major demand windows are, and how a buyer plans against the rhythm.
- Canada beef TRQ: how the tariff rate quota shapes import pricingWhat the Canada beef tariff rate quota is, how WTO, CETA, CPTPP, and UK quotas are allocated, why fill rates matter, and how to read them as a buyer.
Concepts
The reading frameworks: WoW versus YoY versus vs-seasonal, volume context, and why pork bellies are erratic.
- WoW, YoY, and vs-seasonal: which signal matters whenThe three most common time-comparison reads in meat markets: week-over-week, year-over-year, and versus the five-year seasonal norm. What each one captures and when each is the right read.
- Reading volume on USDA printsWhy volume matters as much as price on every USDA report, what "thin trade" means, and how to tell a real signal from a noise move using the load count column.
- Why pork bellies move so muchPork bellies are the most volatile primal in the U.S. meat trade. Why bacon demand, weight bands, freezer cycles, and a small set of slicing plants combine to produce regular price swings of $10 per cwt or more.