THE PROTEIN PULSE — DRIVE TIME

Closing Bell Friday | October 23rd, 2026

HOST: Protein Pulse Drive Time. Closing Bell Friday, October 23rd. From The Sparks Group.

SHAWN: This week's animal-health developments are significant, but they are three different stories, not one industrywide supply problem. The screwworm detections in Texas and New Mexico bring renewed attention to livestock movement requirements in affected areas. Brazil's Newcastle disease case has prompted different poultry import restrictions depending on the destination. Finland's African swine fever detection in wild boar has affected pork exports to China and Japan. What matters commercially is how narrowly or broadly each restriction applies. A regional poultry restriction is not a ban on every Brazilian shipment. A livestock movement zone is not a closure of every border crossing. And an export restriction does not automatically mean a shortage in the domestic market. The takeaway is to understand the specific consequences of each development without assuming a wider disruption than the evidence supports. That's how we separate meaningful market intelligence from unnecessary alarm.

HOST: Choice closed at three sixty-nine forty-seven, down three twelve. Select fell four ninety-three to three fifty forty-one. Imported frozen nineties at three thirteen C-I-F East Coast. Pork cutout at seventy-five twenty-three. Bellies at eighty-four fifty-nine. Chicken breast at one seventeen. West Texas Crude at ninety-nine forty-seven. Ultra-Low Sulfur Diesel at four ninety-three.

SHAWN: Wisconsin confirmed another commercial HPAI flock. Brazil faces destination-specific poultry restrictions. The October 26th Columbus reopening remains conditional. Separate confirmed restrictions from expected market effects. Stay disciplined.

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

SHAWN: Stay disciplined.