THE PROTEIN PULSE — DRIVE TIME

Special Report | September 18, 2026

Cattle on Feed: lowest August placements on record

HOST: Protein Pulse Drive Time. Special Report, September eighteenth. From The Sparks Group. Cattle on Feed.

SHAWN: The headline says cattle on feed are up one percent. I would not get comfortable with that number. August placements fell nine percent to one point six one seven million — the lowest August since the series began in nineteen ninety-six. Marketings were also a record-low August. The cattle are there today. The replacements are not coming fast enough.

HOST: On feed eleven point one six three million. Placements down one hundred sixty-three thousand head. Trade wanted placements at ninety-six point seven percent of last year. USDA printed ninety-one. That’s a five point seven point bullish surprise.

SHAWN: Declines across every major weight class — not just light calves. Kansas, Nebraska, and Texas were about seventy-two percent of placements, and they were all down. Near term this is not an immediate fed-cattle shortage. Farther forward the pipeline tightened. The Protein Pulse A I model reads bullish to strongly bullish, with more sensitivity in February and April. This is not a ninety C L report. It still reinforces why imported lean matters to the grind. Stay disciplined.

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

SHAWN: Stay disciplined.