full

full
Published on:

11th Sep 2026

THE PROTEIN PULSE — DRIVE TIME | Closing Bell Friday | September 11, 2026

Closing Bell Friday | September 11, 2026

HOST: Protein Pulse Drive Time. Closing Bell Friday, September eleventh. From The Sparks Group.

SHAWN: Twenty-five years ago this morning I was in Oklahoma City. Some days fade with time. That one never has. Today I simply remember. September 11, 2001. Never forget.

HOST: After that — the week. Packer margins turned positive. Feedlots went deeper in the red.

SHAWN: Sterling has packers at plus one hundred sixty-nine a head and unhedged feedlots at minus three twenty-nine. A year ago feedlots were making more than seven hundred. Asking prices this morning were two twenty-five live and higher. One profitable packer week does not fix the cattle problem.

HOST: Grind math improved. Fifties fell to about ninety-one cents. Domestic nineties around four thirty-five. Imported lean still near three oh five.

SHAWN: Watch the blend. The tariff-free window is three hundred thousand metric tons. S and P thinks Brazil and Paraguay may only ship thirty-five to forty thousand a month. The window is real. The assumption that all of it shows up on schedule is not.

HOST: Pork is squeezed on both sides. Chicken still has the extra pounds. Crude closed above one hundred two.

SHAWN: Smithfield expects Fresh Pork and Hog Production losses in the third quarter. July pork stayed home. Recheck landed cost. A raw-material opening can disappear before the load reaches the plant. Stay disciplined.

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

SHAWN: Stay disciplined.

Next Episode All Episodes Previous Episode

Listen for free

Show artwork for Protein Pulse Podcast

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

Profile picture for shawn sparks

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.