THE PROTEIN PULSE — DRIVE TIME

Monday Market Open | October 12th, 2026

HOST: Protein Pulse Drive Time. Monday Market Open, October 12th. From The Sparks Group.

SHAWN: John Tyson got a laugh this week when asked why he couldn't bankroll Arkansas football like Cody Campbell. "He's got oil, and I've got chickens." As a die-hard Oklahoma State Cowboy, that one hit home. We had our own oilman in T. Boone Pickens. Money can build a program. Commitment builds a legacy. The protein industry understands that. Capital opens doors, but margins, discipline, and execution determine who stays competitive. Go Pokes.

HOST: Friday's Choice cutout fell a dollar fifty to three seventy-three thirty-five. Select gained two fifty-seven. Fresh nineties were three ninety-six ninety-two. Weekly cattle slaughter was five hundred thirty-one thousand, down three point seven percent. Year-to-date is down seven point four percent. December live cattle settled at two twenty-seven. November feeders at three forty-one ninety-five. Expanded lean-beef import access has yet to deliver noticeable retail price relief. Separate fed beef, cow beef and imported grinding inputs.

SHAWN: Pork cutout gained eighty-six cents Friday to eighty fifty, but the five-day average was down three seventy-two on the week. Bellies averaged ninety seventy-seven, down on the week. Chicken breasts averaged one eighteen. Thighs one sixty-eight. Projected broiler production is up. Wasdy raised corn yield to one eighty-one point two. December corn settled at four eighty, down twenty and a half cents. Meal went the other way, up eight dollars. Friday changed the grain balance sheet, not the protein supply equation. Lower input costs create possibilities. They don't guarantee lower purchase prices. Stay disciplined.

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

SHAWN: Stay disciplined.