Lacy Bates and Brittany Moore recap major meat industry developments, focusing on two USDA initiatives to expand processing capacity and current cattle supply dynamics. USDA announced 147 MPPEP awards across 40 states totaling over $57 million in grants for independent meat and poultry processors to expand capacity and strengthen the supply chain, though labor, equipment costs, regulations, and margins remain challenges. They also explain the $5 billion SPUR (Strengthening Processing for US Ranchers) Guaranteed Loan Program, offering a 90% USDA guarantee via commercial lenders (not grants) for eligible U.S.-located, domestically owned meat, poultry, and seafood processors, with loans up to $175 million and terms up to 40 years, excluding firms at or above the fourth-largest market share. The episode reviews historically low September feedlot placements, gradual reopening of Mexican feeder cattle ports, and how import timing, stocker/backgrounding delays, and potential 2027 heifer retention could affect supplies.
