DTN Early Word Livestock Comments      10/23 06:04
   Red Meat Production Down 4%

   Beef and pork production are down on lower slaughter numbers in September
2026 than in September 2025. Market will be trading last-minute bias ahead of
Friday's Cattle on Feed report.

Robin Schmahl
DTN Contributing Analyst

   Cattle: Steady         Futures: Steady    Live Equiv: $271.75 -$2.58*

   Hogs: Higher           Futures: Higher    Lean Equiv: $82.12 +$0.73**

   *Based on the formula estimating live cattle equivalent of gross packer
revenue. (The Live Cattle Equiv. The index has been updated to depict recent
changes in live cattle weights and grading percentages.)

   ** based on formula estimating lean hog equivalent of gross packer revenue.

GENERAL COMMENTS:

   Live cattle futures were unchanged to 67.5 cents Thursday while feeder
cattle futures fell $1.725 to $1.925. Most bulls have taken on their desired
positions ahead of Friday's Cattle on Feed report while sellers are taking
advantage of the higher prices. Thursday, USDA released its monthly Livestock
Slaughter report. Commercial red meat production fell 4% year over year with
the largest percentage drops in veal and beef production. Veal production
totaled 1.7 million pounds, 13% below September 2025. Beef production totaled
2.04 billion pounds, which fell 6% year over year. Cattle slaughter totaled
2.30 million head, down 7% from September 2025. The average live weight was up
14 pounds at 1,447 pounds.