R E D M E AT R E P O R T S G The US red meat industry is enjoying a year in the black BY S T E V E K AY| m e a t p o u l t r y @ s o s l a n d.c o m 30 MEAT+ POULTRY | 07.18 | www.meatpoultry.com ©Marc Andreu - stock.adobe.com B eef is the new gold, at least for the US red meat industry. And pork is not far behind as the solid silver. That sums up the performance of the industry in the first six months of 2018, a half in which beef profits for packers sprinted to new records in early June. Pork profits started the year strongly but then ran into headwinds in May and June. Fueling both performances, but especially beef's, was strong demand at home and outstanding demand abroad. The year began with forecasts that packer margins would not top their record performance in 2017. That's because 2018 beef and pork production washttp://www.meatpoultry.com