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Published on:

8th Sep 2026

THE PROTEIN PULSE — DRIVE TIME - Taco Meat Tuesday | September 8, 2026

Taco Meat Tuesday | September 8, 2026

HOST: Protein Pulse Drive Time. Taco Meat Tuesday, September eighth. From The Sparks Group.

SHAWN: Labor Day is in the rearview. So is the last major grilling holiday of the summer. I'd quit watching nineties by themselves. Watch the blend—and watch the calendar.

HOST: Cattle are still tight. The grind is not the same tape.

SHAWN: Beef-cow slaughter is down about fourteen percent through August. Total cattle slaughter is down seven point five. Fresh nineties backed off to four forty-nine. Fifties fell to about a dollar, after nearly one ninety in the second quarter. Choice finished three seventy-six. Select three fifty-six. October live cattle two twelve ninety-five.

HOST: Pork is a margin split. Chicken is the supply protein.

SHAWN: Weekly pork cutout averaged ninety-five cents. Bellies dragged the week, then rebounded Friday. Smithfield made more money raising hogs and less money in packaged meats. Chicken slaughter is up one point six percent. Wings dropped more than a nickel to one twelve. Three South Dakota turkey detections are a watch item, not a national disruption.

HOST: July beef exports were worth more than four hundred twenty-one dollars a fed head, up fourteen percent.

SHAWN: Fewer pounds. More value. Exclude China and the value is still higher. Washington can add hooks and lending. It cannot add cattle.

HOST: Short week. Noisy comparisons.

SHAWN: Labor Day didn't change the cattle supply. It changed the calendar. Protect the grind math. Watch whether Friday's pork rebound holds. 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.