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Published on:

9th Sep 2026

THE PROTEIN PULSE — DRIVE TIME - Wednesday Watchlist | September 9, 2026

Wednesday Watchlist | September 9, 2026

HOST: Protein Pulse Drive Time. Wednesday Watchlist, September ninth. From The Sparks Group.

SHAWN: Yesterday I said watch the blend. One day later, the lean side moved. Fresh domestic nineties averaged four thirty-eight Tuesday, more than a dime under last week. Brazilian nineties are indicated near three oh three to three oh five at the port. Fifties did not establish.

HOST: Cheap imported lean can change grind math. Indications are not bookings.

SHAWN: Brazilian sellers are watching China. U.S. buyers are waiting on domestic lean. Until volume actually books, we don't know how much of that discount hits U.S. nineties or the finished grind. Access is three hundred thousand metric tons. Access is not arrivals.

HOST: Chicken has more supply. Demand is uneven. Pork's problem is demand, not efficiency.

SHAWN: Chicken production is three to four percent above last year. Tenders and wings are the foodservice weak spot. Tenders, dark meat, and exports looked better Tuesday. Bellies dropped nearly sixteen cents. Hog slaughter is down. Pork production is up. Efficiency makes pounds. It does not make reasons to buy them.

HOST: Harvest is five percent done. Crude settled at ninety-three.

SHAWN: Crop ratings are worse than last year. Friday's USDA report is the next feed checkpoint. Ninety-three-dollar oil is already in freight, refrigeration, and inputs. Don't trade the headline. Watch what gets bought. 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.