Domestic beef prices are certainly a headache, but the U.S. beef supply chain is losing ground in global markets, as well. The culprits are a combination of supply-and-demand economics — and politics. And in the 21st century, other countries, like Brazil, that have nurtured their meat industries over time are stepping up to fill the void in a way they never did before.

Today on MeatingPod, we parse out the challenges that are present and the opportunities that are coming for the U.S. beef industry with Frank Fuhrig, enterprise editor with Meatingplace. His long-time coverage of agricultural and international affairs brings a rare perspective to the role of trade in this business.

Planning ahead properly for major capital investments faces many barriers, from day-to-day challenges that make it hard to focus on long-term horizons to the shiny new technologies rolled out at trade shows that promise labor savings and soaring profitability.

Proper long-term planning needs focused attention, air and space, and the right people in the room from the beginning, Judson Armentrout says. The founder and principal consultant with Building Block Solutions has guided many protein processors through years-long capital investment plans. Judson has worked on both sides of these projects, in production and in retail, and he knows how to take a project into the future, even when that future is unclear.

Armentrout provides us with his guidelines on this week’s episode of MeatingPod.

If chicken processors feel like the rope in a game of tug-of-war, they have good reason. Prices are historically high, but that may not last. Trade disputes are a big unknown for poultry exports. And colder weather in the Northern Hemisphere already is ushering in new outbreaks of HPAI across the globe.

Nan-Dirk Mulder is a senior global specialist for animal protein with RaboResearch in the Netherlands. He also is the author of its quarterly outlook for the poultry industry. Nan-Dirk doesn’t have a crystal ball into exactly what will happen in poultry in 2026, but he has some well-informed predictions, and he shares them in this episode of MeatingPod.

As storied as the history of the meat business is in the United States, the “old ways” are falling by the wayside now. They are being replaced by technology and training. Meanwhile, the meat industry’s workforce also is seeing upheaval. While traditional sources of labor are coming under fire, processors also are having trouble finding a new breed of employee, who can manage the electronics that are filling up the space in the once-humble meat plant.

In this episode of MeatingPod, the editors of Meatingplace engage in a roundtable discussion of these trends, and their implications for processing companies. Joining us today are Tom Johnston, editor in chief, managing editor Peter Ricci, and Chris Moore, our news editor.

The economics of the turkey market are changing. HPAI and other diseases have tightened supplies but prices are down. And decades-long annual sales cycles seem to have been permanently altered by the pandemic’s effects on social gatherings — but ground product isn’t picking up the slack.

As the holiday season, and holiday meals, draw closer on the calendar, Mark Jordan of LEAP Analytics joins MeatingPod to help make sense of this fast-changing market, with an eye on what to expect in 2026.

It seems a time comes when a meatcutter or rancher wants to take their passion for feeding their communities to a new level, and start up a processing plant. Most of them will need the advice and guidance of someone like David Zarling. The food manufacturing and operations consultant, and program manager for the Niche Meat Processor Assistance Network of Oregon State University Extension, has for years led enthusiastic but financially naive meat pros to adopt what he calls a “manufacturing mindset.” Profits are likely to follow.

Zarling spent some time with MeatingPod to discuss that transition, along with the biggest threat to a small processor, how to survive in a time of constant change, and where and when to invest scarce dollars in technology.

In the conversation, Zarling mentions research published by U of Illinois’ Drs. Catherine Isley and Sarah A. Low. That paper can be found here.

Every pound a broiler chick puts on up to market distribution uses a gallon of water. Multiply that by the nearly 10 billion birds produced in the U.S. each year — predominantly in the Southeast and Mid-Atlantic states — and that’s a small lake’s worth of H2O.

Much of that is the byproduct of processing, and managing that nutrient- and solids-dense water sustainably and economically is a priority for the entire poultry supply chain.

Auburn University’s Brendan Higgins has been studying the options for nearly a decade, and has found that poultry processing water byproducts can be used boost crops — even lettuce, which is especially vulnerable to contamination. Mindful of the fact that every site is unique, he and his team have vetted several options for processors to consider, primarily using technology that’s familiar to the industry and may already be at-hand.

Higgins explains his research and its applications to the industry in this episode of MeatingPod.

Listeners who are interesting in learning more should check out these papers written by Dr. Higgins and his team on the topic they have dubbed "PoultryPonics":

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0960852425001932

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0301479725005353

https://pubs.acs.org/doi/full/10.1021/acsestwater.4c00262

Most U.S. companies have stopped talking about their DEI initiatives, corporate social responsibility and sustainability efforts. Nevertheless, sustainability, in particular, remains a vital part of food companies’ relationships with their customers and end consumers. Pursuing greater sustainability and communicating those programs authentically are key steps to fostering consumer trust, and as Nancy Himmelfarb puts it, “trust sells.”

She joins MeatingPod for a wide-ranging discussion of what sustainability means now — to meat companies in particular — and how executives can best drive toward sustainability goals and get credit for doing so from their customers and consumers.