The USDA’s cold storage report shows diverging demand for different proteins.

Beef supplies at the end of September were 435.342 million pounds, down 4% on the year following a 2% decline in monthly commercial beef production.

Pork came out at 466.41 million pounds, up slightly, after a 3% year to year decrease in monthly production. That pork total did include a big drop in bellies thanks to strong demand for bacon, with the biggest increase in bone-in hams ahead of the holidays.

…