Cattle and hog feeders are benefitting from dramatically lower grain and feed costs this year while live animal sale prices are higher. Profit margins for both species have doubled in the past month.
Cattle feeders and packers were in a standoff most of the week with cash trading only moderate in all regions. Cattle feeders are in a good position as inventories and carcass weights declining.
Average cattle feeding margins were near steady last week despite weaker cash prices. Pork producer margins slipped further into the red as lean carcass prices dropped more than 3% for the week.
Cash cattle markets traded modestly lower in another week of lackluster activity. Northern regions experienced adverse weather conditions added stress to cattle and reduced weights.
Cattle markets traded modestly lower as slaughter levels recovered from the holiday-shortened schedules. Wholesale beef prices traded lower for the week, but Live Cattle futures ended on an up note.
Construction is expected to begin this year for Cattlemen's Heritage Beef Company, a 2,000-head per day beef processing facility south of the Omaha/Council Bluffs metropolitan area.
Cattle feeders are finding modest profits on market-ready cattle early in the New Year, but replacement feeder cattle prices are driving projected breakevens to eight-year highs.
Cash fed cattle traded steady on the week, but further gains in the wholesale beef market gives cattle feeders the incentive to stick to higher asking prices in the short run.
Wholesale beef prices are running $20 per cwt. higher than the same week a year ago, with last week's blizzard one factor in the rally. But retail demand for a shrinking supply will support prices into the New Year.
A handful of highly recognizable fast-food restaurant chains have filed suit in Florida against the nation’s four largest beef packers, alleging price fixing.
The legal tussle between Tyson Foods and Cody Easterday is not complete, even as Easterday reported to federal prison last week to begin his 11-year sentence.
Beef packers saw per head losses nearly double last week as wholesale beef prices tumbled $7 per cwt. lower. Pork processors are also found negative margins and producer margins remain short of breakeven.
Wholesale beef prices have experienced extreme volatility over the past few weeks, which is due in part to seasonal effects and in part to expectations of shrinking beef supplies in the months ahead.
The Family Farmer and Rancher Tax Fairness Act would remove the tax liability for distressed farmers for the assistance provided in Sections 22006 and 22007 of the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA).
Market-ready cattle saw a light trade into a softer market. Packer margins are in the red, but feedlots are firm sellers with showlist numbers declining.
Negative margins continue growing for beef packers as tightening supplies of cattle support cash prices $17 per cwt. higher than the same week a year ago.
Cash cattle trades a week following the Thanksgiving rally saw steady prices, but the steadily declining supply of harvest-ready cattle will continue to shift bargaining leverage to producers.
The pendulum continues swinging toward cattle feeders as cash prices jumped $3 last week and left packers with their largest negative margins in nearly six years.
Every cowboy has a story about how choices his ancestors made resulted in the life they're living today. Many of us are thankful for blessings we didn't recognize as such at the time.
Market leverage continues to shift in the favor of cattle and hog finishers, a trend that has continuously chipped away at the historic packer margins of a year ago.
Cargill has named Brian Sikes as the company’s president and CEO effective Jan. 1, 2023. Current CEO Dave MacLennan will assume the role of Executive Chair of Cargill’s Board of Directors.
November's USDA Cattle on Feed report estimated placements at 20-year lows and well below pre-report estimates, confirming this fall's bullish market has settled in for an extended stay.
Packers were successful in filling their needs at steady money this week as wholesale beef prices moved lower. Feedyards were content to reduce showlists but remaining cattle are priced higher.
While dairy producers are rapidly embracing the concept of using beef semen to freshen their cows, the resulting crossbred calves are proving both a valuable opportunity and a challenge for the U.S. beef industry.
Autumn’s fed cattle price rally has pushed average cattle feeding margins through the $200 per head barrier for the first time since well before the pandemic.
Robust beef demand continues with retailers expecting the strongest sales this holiday season since before the pandemic. Strength on the demand side continues to pull cash cattle prices higher.
Harassment of Dr. Frank Mitloehner by journalists with an anti-animal ag agenda went about as well as a drunken tourist playing chicken with a bison in Yellowstone.
The overall condemnation of beef livers due to abscesses and the severity of those abscesses costs the U.S. beef industry $409 million annually. It's a problem that must be addressed.
The pendulum continues to swing in cattlemen's favor as cash prices rally $3 per cwt. Pork producers see improved profit margins with a $7 per cwt. rally.
Cash cattle trade was called active with packers seeking to add inventory. Retailer buying was also active as they anticipate a seasonal slowdown in supplies.
Brazilian meatpackers continue to procure cattle from inside the country’s protected areas more than a decade after zero-deforestation cattle agreements were signed to reform the sector.
