USDA NASS released the September 1 Hogs and Pigs report, and the big surprise was pigs per litter reaching another record high of 11.61. This is an increase of 4.3% from last year and beats the prior record of 11.36 that was set last quarter, marking two consecutive record quarters for pigs per litter. Analysts were expecting an increase in pigs per litter with a range from up 0.9% to 3.2%, so the actual was above the range of estimates.

USDA Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) provides a weekly summary of the premiums and discounts for cattle in the LM_CT155 report. Over time this report has provided some valuable trends on carcass quality and how preferences have influenced packers’ willingness to pay for that quality. The industry has progressively moved towards more Choice beef, offers incentives to those that deliver better than Choice, and discounts carcasses that are lower than Choice. The average paid for Choice has maintained an average premium/discount of $0 per cwt since 1996.

Cold storage inventory statistics for August were released by USDA NASS last week, and total red meat stocks were 920.5 million pounds, 15.4% below last year. Beef in cold storage was 421.6 million pounds, down 17.9% from last year. Compared to a year ago, boneless beef and beef cuts declined 17.1% and 25.2%, respectively, to 383.2 and 38.4 million pounds. Lamb and mutton stocks fell 2.8% from last month and 8.8% from last year to 26.6 million pounds. August was the first month this year that lamb and mutton stocks fell below year ago levels.