Farm Raw Product Wholesalers NAICS 4245

Jul 23, 2025 - Walmart Eliminates the Middlemen

• Walmart is cutting out the middlemen by building its own end-to-end beef supply chain, opening a 300,000-square-foot meatpacking plant in Olathe, Kansas built specifically to process Black Angus beef for its customers, the company announced in June. The world’s largest retailer is taking greater control over sourcing and processing by contracting with Nebraska-based meat processor Sustainable Beef, which sources cattle directly from ranchers and feedlots within 250 miles of its plant in North Platte, eliminating the need for wholesaler intermediaries. The facility will process fresh beef into case-ready cuts, packaged and ready for retail, which will be shipped directly to Walmart distribution centers to serve stores in the Midwest. The move comes amid record high prices for cattle and beef. In May, prices for beef and veal were up 8.6% year over year and are expected to continue to rise, according to the USDA.
• As part of its dismantling of USAID, the Trump administration halted the Food for Peace program, which provided a market for US crops and helped to feed 4 billion people worldwide since its inception in the 1950s, The Wichita Eagle reports. However, closure of the US Agency for International Development is facing pushback from farm state Republicans. To safeguard the program and billions of dollars in wheat, rice, and other farm product sales, two Kansas Republicans are pushing legislation to move it to the US Department of Agriculture. Sen. Jerry Moran of Kansas said food aid had proven its value in fostering political stability abroad, bolstering US national security and providing markets for US crops, adding “By moving this program closer to the producers who grow these crops, we can help reduce waste and make certain our farmers have access to this valuable market.”

• US agricultural exports in fiscal year 2025 (ending Sept 30) are projected at $170.5 billion, up $500 million from the November forecast, as higher grain and feed exports offset reductions to the oilseed outlook, according to the USDA’s Outlook for US Agricultural Trade: February 2025. Grain and feed exports are projected at $37.7 billion, up $1.2 billion from November, led by higher corn exports. Along with higher feed and fodder exports, these increases more than offset moderately lower wheat, sorghum, and rice exports. Mexico is forecast to remain the largest market for US agricultural exports at a record $30.2 billion, up $300-million from the previous forecast on strong sales of dairy, wheat, and other products during the first quarter. Exports to Canada are forecast to fall $800 million to $28.4 billion due to weaker-than-expected shipments to date. Exports to China are cut by $1.3 billion to $22 billion, largely due to reduced prospects for US soybeans, grains, and cotton.
• Producer prices for farm product raw material merchant wholesalers tumbled 9.7% in May compared to a year ago, after rising 2.5% in the previous May-versus-May annual comparison, according to the latest US Bureau of Labor Statistics data. Producer prices for farm product wholesalers are volatile and are impacted by swings in prices for farm commodities including grains, crops, and livestock. Employment by the industry grew 3.2% year over year in April, according to the latest US Bureau of Labor Statistics data. Industry inventories jumped 10% year over year in February but fell 7.1% from January, according to the Census Bureau. Inventory levels generally peak in the winter months as distributors build stocks for sale later in the year.