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Published on:

18th Sep 2026

THE PROTEIN PULSE — DRIVE TIME Special Report | September 18, 2026 Cattle on Feed

THE PROTEIN PULSE — DRIVE TIME

Special Report | September 18, 2026

Cattle on Feed: lowest August placements on record

HOST: Protein Pulse Drive Time. Special Report, September eighteenth. From The Sparks Group. Cattle on Feed.

SHAWN: The headline says cattle on feed are up one percent. I would not get comfortable with that number. August placements fell nine percent to one point six one seven million — the lowest August since the series began in nineteen ninety-six. Marketings were also a record-low August. The cattle are there today. The replacements are not coming fast enough.

HOST: On feed eleven point one six three million. Placements down one hundred sixty-three thousand head. Trade wanted placements at ninety-six point seven percent of last year. USDA printed ninety-one. That’s a five point seven point bullish surprise.

SHAWN: Declines across every major weight class — not just light calves. Kansas, Nebraska, and Texas were about seventy-two percent of placements, and they were all down. Near term this is not an immediate fed-cattle shortage. Farther forward the pipeline tightened. The Protein Pulse A I model reads bullish to strongly bullish, with more sensitivity in February and April. This is not a ninety C L report. It still reinforces why imported lean matters to the grind. 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.