Meat Supply predicted to be tight

Agricultural lender Rabobank International is predicting a drop of nearly 5
percent in U.S. meat and poultry production by mid-2012 as producers cut
output in response to tighter feed supplies.

Herd liquidation due to drought is the U.S. South and Southwest is a major
reason for the decline in meat production, but the global protein industry
is also in a multi-year process of adjusting to higher, more volatile feed
costs, Rabobank said in a report.

The sharp decline in production will lead to a "precipitous fall' in
available meat in 2012, Rabobank global strategist David Nelson said in the
report.