“With the low placements on the Cattle on Feed report, it is hard to be bearish the last quarter of 2026 and the 1st quarter of 2027,” reported Chris Lehner with ADM Investor Services. “The negatives for beef are the increasing consumer prices for groceries in 2026, and the high fuel prices limiting consumers buying. There are 60% to 65% of consumers living from paycheck to paycheck and 20% of consumers need to use savings to buy groceries or buy on credit cards with interest rates averaging 19.2% that have good credit and up to 26.9% for a person with fair credit.”