HOST: Protein Pulse Drive Time. A Wasdy special for October 9th. From The Sparks Group.

SHAWN: USDA just added 282 million bushels to projected corn ending stocks while cutting beef and pork production forecasts for both 2026 and 2027. That's the disconnect. Corn yield jumped to 181.2 bushels an acre. Meal stays at $340 a ton. Cattle supplies remain constrained, pork expectations are slipping, and chicken continues adding pounds. The benefit of cheaper corn won't move through the complex at the same speed. Poultry can respond relatively quickly. Cattle production cannot. The market just repriced corn. It hasn't repriced the biology of cattle production.

HOST: Corn ending stocks are 1.849 billion bushels. Stocks-to-use is 11.3 percent. The farm price is $4.70, down 10 cents. For 2027, beef drops 160 million pounds. Pork drops 245 million. Broilers rise 150 million. USDA cut 2027 pork exports 95 million pounds and lowered the hog price forecast from $64 to $63, even with less production. Chicken is the only major protein with upward revisions for both years.

SHAWN: Better feed economics and improved fed-cattle availability are two different propositions. Imported lean can help the grind. It cannot replace domestic fed cattle. Monitor the cutout and export demand before extending pork commitments on tighter production alone. Lower feed costs can improve production economics without automatically lowering finished protein prices. The feed cushion is growing. The red meat cushion isn't. Stay disciplined.

HOST: Protein Pulse Drive Time. Shawn Sparks, The Sparks Group.

SHAWN: Stay disciplined.