Slaughter steer prices in the Southern Plains have continued to remain stable to higher since about April, maintaining about $120 per cwt, with the exception of a few dollars higher in late June. The normal seasonal pattern for slaughter steer prices is higher in the first quarter, trending lower through September, before rebounding.  The ten year price index shows clearly a third quarter bottom.

Retail meat price data was recently release for the month of June. Beef and pork prices remain well above typical levels while chicken prices continued to moderate lower. Pork prices have been tracking above last year’s levels since the start of the year and prices have been increasing for the last nine consecutive months. The pork price of $4.55 per pound in June set an all-time high based on data going back to 1960. Sliced bacon prices increased $0.90 per pound (15.6%) to $6.67 while boneless hams rose $0.31 per pound (6.8%) from last year to $4.92.

The June 30 USDA NASS March Prospective Plantings report updated acreage expectations for the upcoming 2021/22 crop year. Principal crop acres were pegged at 317.2 million acres, an increase of 7.1 million acres or 2.3% over last year. Total corn and soybean acres were estimated at 180.2 million acres, up 3.6% from last year. Corn planted acres were estimated at 92.7 million acres, an increase of 1.87 million acres (2.1%) from the prior year. Soybean planted acres were estimated to be 87.6 million acres, an increase of 5.4% or 4.5 million acres from a year ago.