Hogs

• Lean hog future again looking for support as we move from summer into back to school routines.  With Labor Day just under three weeks away, grocers are preparing for summer’s last big grilling rush. Most holiday orders have already been locked in, and meat and prepared food departments are expected to see strong traffic as shoppers savor the last days of summer.
• Front month August remained positive on Wednesday as move closer to expiration on Friday.
• Cutout was higher on Wednesday with most all cuts showing gains with the exception of the rib and the ham.   Pork continues to compete for grill space, with ribs ($3.46 per pound), pork loins ($3.83 per pound), and shoulder roasts ($2.22 per pound) priced in line with or below last year. Bacon is the exception, averaging $6.28 per pound, 26 cents higher than a year ago.
• Cash was not supportive on Wednesday with the national down $1.93.  Packers were less aggressive, yet managed to purchase a good amount of volume. 
• China imported 533,241 metric tons (mt) of meat, including variety meats in July 2025, rising just 0.9% (3,241 mt) from a month earlier, according to preliminary data from the General Administration of Customs (GACC). Its slow economic rebound continued to temper consumer spending, keeping import growth muted. Weak activity in the dining-out sector weighed on demand, while rising domestic production further limited imports.

Grains

• Dec corn is down 4 3/4. November beans are down 6 cents. The equities are slightly higher. Gold is lower, and copper is lower.
• Soybean futures made gains for third consecutive trading session yesterday. The Nov25 contract settled near $10.44 its highest level since early July. This rally came to be after on Tuesday’s WASDE report they cut ending stocks on soybeans.
• U.S. ethanol production rose last week, averaging 1.09 million barrels per day—up 1.1% from the prior week and 2% higher than the same period last year. Meanwhile, ethanol inventories fell to a year-to-date low of 22.65 million barrels, down 4.7% week-over-week and 3% below last year’s level. Reuters data shows production margins remain strong, supported by lower corn prices.
• On the over night Nov soybeans got to as high as 10.49 ¼, but has backed off since then. It will be interesting to see if we go test that point again today. That 10.50 spot seems to be a spot of resistance.
• The wheat complex closed mixed across the three markets on Wednesday. CBT soft red wheat futures led the bulls, with contracts 2 to 3 cents higher. KC HRW futures were down 2 to 4 cents in the front months on the session, as weakness remained. MPLS spring wheat was mixed, with nearby September down ¼ cent and December up a penny.

Cattle

• Cattle futures were undecisive on Wednesday, closing mixed for the day seeing large percent of the time in negative territory.
• Light trade developed in all regions on Wednesday. Prices were at the high end of last week’s reported market. In the south live sales were reported in Kansas at $227 and live sales in the north at $245. Dressed sales were reported at $385. These prices were $2 higher than the average prices from last week. Asking prices are most $2-5 above these reported sales.
• Beef has overtaken seafood as the most advertised protein this week, representing 27.0% of retail buying opportunities. Pork is close behind at 26.6%, while seafood has eased to 23.3%. Chicken remains steady at 18%, and turkey ads inched up to 3%.
• Beef features are up to nearly 28,000 this week, about 1,000 more than last week. Steaks remain the most promoted item, especially T-bone and top sirloin. T-bones averaged $11.64 per pound last week, up from $10.95 a year ago, while sirloin averaged $13.20 per pound, up from $12.93. For 78–84% lean ground beef, the average price was $5.30 per pound, up 9.7% year-over-year.
• The market was pumped up early by the sharp advances in wholesale boxed beef values this week. End users are scrambling over limited fed cattle subprimals thanks to the smallest production levels in 10 years. Tight supplies of grinding material have sent chuck and round prices to new highs for 2025 this week. But the rib and loin have had a stout rally as well.

Weather

• Rains moved out to the southeastern U.S. over the past 24 hours while the next action moved in to the northern belt, lingering there through the weekend and into early next week. Extended maps are running a bit drier for the bulk of the Midwest, clearing out for the heart of the belt next week with some better far western rains on tap later into the 6-10 day into the 11-15 day period. Temperatures remain on the high side of normal, though not extreme.