THE PROTEIN PULSE - Monday Market Open | October 12th, 2026 cover art

THE PROTEIN PULSE - Monday Market Open | October 12th, 2026

THE PROTEIN PULSE - Monday Market Open | October 12th, 2026

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THE PROTEIN PULSEMonday Market Open | October 12th, 2026Full Executive Briefing — Spoken ScriptHOST: Welcome to The Protein Pulse Podcast, your daily market update on all things protein. This is Monday Market Open for October 12th, 2026, from The Sparks Group.SHAWN: John Tyson got a laugh this week when asked why he couldn't bankroll Arkansas football like Cody Campbell, the Texas Tech oilman and major Red Raiders booster. "He's got oil, and I've got chickens." As a die-hard Oklahoma State Cowboy, that one hit home. We had our own oilman in T. Boone Pickens, and I sure wish he were still around. We've endured some lean years since Boone's passing, so seeing the Pokes back in the Top 25 makes this one a little sweeter. College football has become big business. NIL, transfer portals, and multimillion-dollar rosters have changed the game. But spending money and building something sustainable aren't necessarily the same thing. The protein industry understands that lesson. Capital opens doors, but margins, discipline, and execution determine who stays competitive. Boone understood the value of investing in something you believe in. Money can build a program. Commitment builds a legacy. Go Pokes.HOST: Friday's October Wasdy reset the grain outlook. Corn futures fell sharply while feeder cattle rallied, but the protein supply equation remains uneven. Cattle availability is constrained, pork weakened on a weekly basis, and broiler production is forecast to expand. The margin challenge differs by protein. Tight cattle supplies favor producers while restricting packer utilization. Pork depends increasingly on export markets, and chicken must balance production growth with profitable demand. For buyers, the opportunity is understanding where those economic pressures create leverage, and where they don't.SHAWN: Friday's Choice cutout declined a dollar fifty to three seventy-three thirty-five. Select gained two fifty-seven to three fifty-four thirty. The Choice Select spread narrowed to nineteen oh five. Heavy boneless Choice ribeyes averaged fifteen eighty-one. Meanwhile, eighty-one percent ground beef averaged three forty-seven seventy-two. Daily fresh nineties were three ninety-six ninety-two. Fresh fifties were ninety-four twelve. The weekly fresh nineties average was three ninety-eight eighty. Premium middle meats and grinding components are not moving as one market. Different specifications create different buying opportunities. Weekly cattle slaughter totaled an estimated five hundred thirty-one thousand head, down three point seven percent. Year-to-date slaughter reached twenty-one point oh eight eight million, down seven point four percent. Projected 2026 beef production was reduced seventy-five million pounds to twenty-four point eight oh two billion. December live cattle settled Friday at two twenty-seven, up three fifty. November feeders gained seven oh seven five to three forty-one ninety-five. Expensive cattle and underutilized packing capacity continue to squeeze processing economics. An important distinction: the frequently cited eighty-five percent Big Four concentration figure applies to fed-cattle processing, not all cattle slaughter. The markets for fed cattle and cull cows differ significantly in processing economics, products and procurement competition. That distinction matters when evaluating consolidation, packer margins and competition for available cattle. Mexican feeder cattle entering through Douglas totaled a reported twenty-four thousand six hundred fifty since August 24th, versus twenty-five thousand three hundred fifty during the comparable 2024 period. Expanded lean-beef import access also has yet to deliver noticeable retail price relief. Approximately thirty-seven thousand four hundred eighty-six metric tons entered under the new tariff-rate quota through September 28th, against a one hundred thousand ton first-month allowance. Not all those imports represent additional supply beyond normal trade, and retail pricing does not respond immediately to raw-material changes. Separate fed beef, cow beef and imported grinding inputs. Expanded access does not guarantee cheaper delivered beef.HOST: Projected 2026 broiler production increased one hundred million pounds to forty-nine point seven two billion. For October 5th through 9th, boneless skinless breasts averaged one eighteen. Tenderloins one thirteen fifty. Whole wings one ten sixty. Boneless skinless thighs one sixty-eight. All four increased modestly. Drumsticks eased to fifty-three cents. Bulk leg quarters averaged fifty-three cents. Higher production forecasts do not guarantee lower wholesale prices across every cut. Proposed processing line-speed limits could rise from one hundred forty to one hundred seventy-five birds per minute, but physical infrastructure remains a constraint. One industry estimate suggests faster line speeds could add only zero to half a percentage point to annual chicken-production growth over the next ...
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