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23rd Oct 2026

THE PROTEIN PULSE — DRIVE TIME Special Report - Cattle on Feed | October 23rd, 2026

THE PROTEIN PULSE — DRIVE TIME

Special Report | October 23rd, 2026

Cattle on Feed

HOST: Protein Pulse Drive Time. Special report, October 23rd. Cattle on Feed. From The Sparks Group.

SHAWN: The headline says cattle on feed are basically unchanged from last year. I wouldn't confuse that with a stable cattle pipeline. September placements dropped twelve percent, the lowest September number in thirty years of reporting. And here's what catches my attention. The trade was already expecting fewer placements. USDA came in another three point seven percentage points below those expectations. Placements declined across every weight class, and some of the biggest cattle-feeding states took substantial hits. Meanwhile, marketings are running lower. That's helping keep cattle in feedlots today, but it doesn't replace the cattle that aren't coming in. The inventory is holding. The replacement pipeline isn't.

HOST: October 1st cattle on feed eleven point three seven two million, down zero point four percent. September placements one point seven seven seven million, down twelve percent. Marketings one point five two four million, down seven percent. Kansas, Nebraska and Texas accounted for about eighty-two percent of the national placement decline.

SHAWN: Eleven point three seven million cattle on feed tells us where we are. One point seven eight million placements tells us more about where we are going. Stay disciplined.

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

SHAWN: Stay disciplined.

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About the Podcast

Protein Pulse Podcast
Your Daily Market Update on All Things Protein.
The Protein Pulse Podcast delivers concise, commercially focused protein market intelligence for buyers, sellers, traders, procurement leaders, processors, and executives across the beef, pork, chicken, feed, and global protein markets. Each episode translates USDA data, market pricing, slaughter trends, trade flows, imports, feed costs, policy developments, and supply-chain signals into clear, practical market context. The focus is simple: cut through the noise, explain what the numbers mean, and give protein professionals the market context they need before making their next decision. Your Daily Market Update on All Things Protein.

About your host

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Shawn Sparks

Shawn Sparks is the founder of The Protein Pulse and a protein procurement, sourcing, and trading executive with more than two decades of experience across beef, pork, chicken, and the broader food supply chain.

His career has included senior procurement and purchasing leadership roles at some of the largest food companies in the industry, with responsibility for billions of dollars in annual protein spend and complex domestic and global sourcing programs.

Today, Shawn leads The Sparks Group, Inc. and Great Plains Protein LLC, where he works across protein sourcing, trading, procurement strategy, supplier development, and market intelligence.

Through The Protein Pulse Podcast, Shawn brings a practical, commercial perspective to the protein markets — translating USDA data, pricing, slaughter trends, imports, exports, feed costs, policy, and supply-chain developments into clear context for buyers, sellers, traders, processors, and industry leaders.

His focus is simple: cut through the noise, explain what the numbers mean, and help protein professionals understand what matters next.

The Protein Pulse — Your Daily Market Update on All Things Protein.