Every Daily Read
Every trading day's read, free, browsable by date. Each one is what the USDA close actually meant for a buyer, written the evening it printed.
Mon, Aug 3, 2026
Beef chuck broke out: Choice short rib printed above its three week band. History leans lower from here: across the last 4 years, the four weeks after this calendar spot averaged a softer beef chuc...
Fri, Jul 31, 2026
Beef printed 20 cuts higher, 12 lower, on 1.6x normal volume. Seven of every ten beef pounds that cleared today were lean trim, nearly double the usual share. Chuck and the middles barely traded. B...
Thu, Jul 30, 2026
The bid in Choice rib ribeye bnls light carried through the close.
Wed, Jul 29, 2026
Beef flank took out the bottom of its range, led by Choice flank steak. Beef loin is lower a second session. The slide we flagged yesterday is still running.
Tue, Jul 28, 2026
The beef short plate complex broke out: Choice short plate short rib printed above its three week band. Beef loin is higher a second session. The bid we flagged yesterday is still running. History...
Mon, Jul 27, 2026
Beef loin took out the bottom of its range, led by Choice loin bottom sirloin flap.
Fri, Jul 24, 2026
Pork backribs 2.0#/up 1 pc vac is higher a second session. The bid we flagged yesterday is still running.
Thu, Jul 23, 2026
Beef chuck traded through the top of its range, Choice chuck clod arm roast out front. Beef chuck is still lower, extending its run.
Wed, Jul 22, 2026
Beef plate broke its three week floor. Choice plate inside skirt did the damage. Ground beef is still higher, extending its run.
Tue, Jul 21, 2026
Beef loin took out the bottom of its range, led by Choice loin bottom sirloin flap. Beef plate is still lower, extending its run. History leans lower from here: across the last 5 years, the four we...
Mon, Jul 20, 2026
Pork 42% trim combo broke its three week floor. 42% trim combo did the damage. History leans lower from here: across the last 5 years, the four weeks after this calendar spot averaged a softer pork...
Fri, Jul 17, 2026
Beef chuck took out the bottom of its range, led by Choice chuck short rib. Beef loin is still higher, extending its run. History leans lower from here: across the last 4 years, the four weeks afte...
Thu, Jul 16, 2026
The beef plate complex lost its floor: Choice plate inside skirt traded through the low end of its three week band. Beef loin is still lower, extending its run. The proteins parted ways on the sess...
Wed, Jul 15, 2026
The beef loin complex lost its floor: Choice loin short loin 0x1 traded through the low end of its three week band. Beef loin is still higher, extending its run. The proteins parted ways on the ses...
Tue, Jul 14, 2026
Beef plate broke its three week floor. Choice plate inside skirt did the damage. Beef loin is still lower, extending its run. History leans lower from here: across the last 5 years, the four weeks...
Mon, Jul 13, 2026
Beef rib broke its three week floor. Choice rib ribeye lip-on bn-in did the damage. The bid in Choice loin bottom sirloin flap carried through the close.
Fri, Jul 10, 2026
The ground beef complex lost its floor: ground beef 81% traded through the low end of its three week band. History leans lower from here: across the last 5 years, the four weeks after this calendar...
Thu, Jul 9, 2026
Pork sparerib traded through the top of its range, St Louis spareribs poly fzn out front. History leans lower from here: across the last 3 years, the four weeks after this calendar spot averaged a...
Wed, Jul 8, 2026
Strip loin broke hard at last close, down 108c on the session and outside its prior range to the downside, and the seasonal history is unambiguous: another 117c lower on average over the next four...
Tue, Jul 7, 2026
Flank steak at 1036c is the priciest thing on the board right now, up 39c on the session, but it's mid-range inside its three-week band so that's just noise. The more honest story is that beef load...
Mon, Jul 6, 2026
Outside skirt is at 1333c after a 303c single-session print, and history says it sheds 120c from here on average with the downside range running to 152c. That run is cooked. The problem is the rest...
Fri, Jul 3, 2026
Short plate's at 688c, up 29c on the week, and the four-week seasonal forward adds another 25c on average from here. That's one of the cleaner seasonal setups in the complex right now. The sirloin...
Thu, Jul 2, 2026
Bone-in lip-on ribeye shed 68c on the session and 135c on the week, and the seasonal forward adds another 37c from here on average, but with a range that swings 152c lower at the worst end. At 1090...
Wed, Jul 1, 2026
Outside skirt printed +200c on the session and the seasonal case against it is as clean as it gets: every year in the five-year sample it loses ground from here, median draw around 119c, worst case...
Tue, Jun 30, 2026
73CL fresh printed 340c after a 54c single-session jump, but that move wants scrutiny. Beef loads ran 30% below the five-year norm at last close, so the firming cutout and the trim spike are both s...
Mon, Jun 29, 2026
Retail feature activity dropped 24,348 slots week-over-week, and that pullback lands squarely on ground beef patties, which topped the feature list at nearly 18,000 stores. When grocers ease off th...
Fri, Jun 26, 2026
Choice cutout shed another $2.62/cwt at last close, but it's the lean grind lane holding the real tension. Fresh 73% chemical lean at 339c hasn't moved in days, pinned by a cow supply pipeline that...
Thu, Jun 25, 2026
Loin, bottom sirloin flap at 768c has shed 119c on the week and outside skirt dropped another 138c on the session, both cuts confirming the middle-meat and plate complex is giving back its seasonal...
Wed, Jun 24, 2026
The loonie's drop to 1.4233 is doing real damage today. USD/CAD widened 75 pips overnight, and that moves the landed cost on every US primal before a single market price shifts. Inside skirt at 699...
Tue, Jun 23, 2026
Ground beef 75% at 434c has run 62c on the month and history pulls it back around 28c from this point in June, so the grind complex has done most of its seasonal work. Select cutout gained 3.5c/cwt...
Mon, Jun 22, 2026
Chuck short rib has shed 73c on the month and sits at 493c, yet every year in the sample it adds back at least a couple bucks from this point in June, with the four-week forward averaging nearly 25...
Fri, Jun 19, 2026
Late drop today. The morning cron either waited on a delayed USDA print or retried after an earlier failure. The read below uses the freshest data on the desk now. Ground beef patties topped the r...
Thu, Jun 18, 2026
The Canadian dollar at 1.4122, down 126 points on the day, means every USD-denominated program running into Canada just got measurably more expensive on landed cost. Chuck short rib at 589c is the...
Wed, Jun 17, 2026
Outside skirt at 1414c is the loudest print in today's box, up 113c on the session after a 217c monthly run, and the four-week seasonal history says this cut typically gives back close to 80c from...
Tue, Jun 16, 2026
Chuck flap at 992c is sitting near recent highs and has historically given back around 53c over the next four weeks, yet it's holding firm today alongside a cutout that added over 3c on thin beef l...
Mon, Jun 15, 2026
Retail feature activity just jumped 9,400 slots week-over-week, with premium grind patties topping the list at over 6,600 stores. That kind of grocer loading typically pulls through to wholesale in...
Fri, Jun 12, 2026
Fresh 50% lean cow trim at 194c is the cleaner signal today, up 11c on the session with a seasonal forward that adds another 31c over the next four weeks. That move reflects the same packer-side lo...
Thu, Jun 11, 2026
Chuck short rib at 588c has added 26c on the session and 58c on the week, and the four-week seasonal projection adds another 35c from here with a floor that hasn't once gone negative in five years....
Wed, Jun 10, 2026
65CL at 277c printed a 27c single-session gain, and that kind of move in a middle-of-the-trim-range cut usually means the squeeze has broadened past the fine-grind grades and is pulling the whole l...
Tue, Jun 9, 2026
Trim is running away from the middle meats today, and the gap between those two lanes is widening in a way that matters depending on which side of the carcass you're buying. Chemical lean 50CL at 1...
Mon, Jun 8, 2026
Ground beef 75s jumped 42c overnight to 408c, and that move is landing on a week when grocers just pulled 25,757 feature slots out of the market. That's a meaningful disconnect: retail is easing of...
Fri, Jun 5, 2026
Fresh 50CL at 196c, up 14c overnight, is now the loudest signal in the box today, and the condition producing it isn't a fresh demand bid. It's supply. The cow kill running tight and cold storage a...
Thu, Jun 4, 2026
The NASS kill print this afternoon is the hinge today, and what it's likely to confirm is already visible in the lean trim complex. Fresh 81s gained 13c on the week without a single day-over-day ti...
Wed, Jun 3, 2026
Chemical lean 92-94CL at 485c hasn't moved in a week on a daily basis, but it's up over the month and the four-week seasonal forward adds another 9.8c with a floor that's been positive every year i...
Tue, Jun 2, 2026
Ball-tip at 626c printed a 37c one-day pop, which stands out less for the size of the move and more for what it confirms: the trim and end-meat complex is carrying this carcass while the middle mea...
Mon, Jun 1, 2026
Tenderloin at 1,614c is the loudest number on the board today, up 109c overnight and 147c on the month, but the seasonal forward drops it 102c over the next four weeks with a floor that has broken...
Fri, May 29, 2026
Pork carcass adding 76c on heavy loads while beef gives back 2.40 on thin volume is a clean demand divergence, and it's doing something specific to the beef side: retailers facing a firm pork bid t...
Thu, May 28, 2026
Fresh 50CL at 187.79c, up 6c on the day and 11c on the week, is moving against a pork complex that's heading the other direction. Pork loads running 22% above their five-year average are pushing th...
Wed, May 27, 2026
Ball-tip at 660c, up 34c on the week, is where the carcass split is most visible today. Lean trim is running nearly two and a half times the pace of middle meats in terms of cumulative gains, and t...
Tue, May 26, 2026
Fresh 50CL at 191c hasn't made a dramatic daily move, but it's crept higher weekly and history carries it another 25c from here over the next four weeks, with the cow kill short and the grind compl...
Fri, May 22, 2026
Pork carcass firming to a heavy-loads print while the beef cutout eases on thin volume is the clearest divergence this market has shown in weeks. That's not a substitution story for a buyer with fi...
Thu, May 21, 2026
81s held 377c today without budging a cent day-over-day, which is the lean complex doing something different than the round board. Top inside denuded gave back 72c in a single session after Wednesd...
Wed, May 20, 2026
Top inside denuded printed 564c today, up 92c in a single session after already gaining 66c on the week. That kind of vertical move in a round cut usually means export-sensitive supply dried up fas...
Tue, May 19, 2026
Fresh 90CL at 469c lost 10c overnight while the weekly gain still reads 21c higher, and that day-over-day dip inside a firm weekly trend is the lean trim complex telling you the bid is running in w...
Mon, May 18, 2026
Retail feature activity jumped nearly 19,000 stores week-over-week, and the top feature is ground beef patties sitting in over 14,000 locations. That volume of grind promotion hitting shelves this...
Fri, May 15, 2026
Ground beef 73% at 364c is running a different race than the rest of the beef board today. It gained 24c in a single session and 22c on the week while tenderloin dropped 194c and the short loin she...
Thu, May 14, 2026
Boneless ribeye at 1163c is shedding 155c in a single session, and that kind of single-day gap in a middle meat usually signals the bid dried up fast, not that fundamentals turned. Beef cutout is e...
Wed, May 13, 2026
Pork carcass off 1.46c today against beef's softer but more contained 0.49c decline, and the divergence runs deeper than the headline numbers. Heavy pork loads are moving freely while beef flows ra...
Tue, May 12, 2026
Ground beef 73% at 365c is the loudest line on the board, up 30c on the day and 43c on the month, with history pointing to another 17c from here. That's not a soft print anywhere in the trim comple...