Drovers
Average cattle feeding losses totaled $106 per head for the week ending June 21.
The Sterling Beef Profit Tracker reports average cattle feeding closeouts were in the black last week, but with little room to spare.
Cattle feeding margins improved $16 per head last week as cash prices inched higher less than $1 per cwt.
Cattle feeding margins improved $43 per head last week as cash prices gained nearly $2 per cwt.
Cattle feeding and packer profit margins both declined last week as cash cattle prices were modestly lower.
Cattle feeding and packer profit margins were mostly steady the week ending December 21, with cash prices for fed cattle slightly higher.
As expected, beef packer margins jumped wildly higher the week ending Aug. 17, while cattle feeding margins slipped into the red.
Feedyard margins climbed back into triple digits last week with a $1 to $2 price rally.
Packer margins advanced on softer cash cattle prices and gain in the beef cutout prices.
Packer margins have grown to exceptionally high levels in recent weeks, while feedyard profits have eroded.
Beef packers continued to maintain their leverage on cattle markets heading into the holiday-shortened first week of September.
Last week’s $2 rally in cash cattle prices helped narrow the spread between feedyard losses and packer profits.
Cattle feeding margins slipped further into the red last week on soft cash prices, while packer margins climbed to extreme heights.
Feedyards saw closeouts improve dramatically last week after the cash cattle market posted its third consecutive week of higher prices.
Gains in cash fed cattle prices did not translate into higher profits for feedyards last week as higher feeder cattle prices were calculated into breakevens.
The combination of shrinking packer profits and smaller feedyard losses over the past six weeks has reduced the packer/feeder margin spread by 27%, according to the Sterling Beef Profit Tracker.
Last week’s $1 increase in cash fed cattle prices did little for feedyard profits, but the $6.40 rally in wholesale beef prices added another $25 onto already large packer margins.
Cattle feeders continue to find modest profits on a cash basis despite last week’s $2 per cwt. market retreat.
Cattle feeding margins jumped $72 per head higher the week ending Jan. 25 as the value of feeder cattle calculated against those closeouts declined $8 per cwt.
Beef packer profit margins fell to their lowest level in nearly two years last week while cattle feeding margins exceeded triple digits for the second consecutive week.
Cattle feeding profit margins exceeded beef packer margins last week for the first time in more than two years as cash cattle prices have increased 20% since September.
Despite an average $1 decline in cash fed cattle prices last week, cattle feeding margins remained solidly profitable on a cash basis.
Despite a $2 decline in cash fed cattle prices, feedyard closeouts reported positive mid-winter results while packer margins held firm.
Cattle feeders and beef packers are both experiencing modest mid-winter profits, though both margins were slightly lower on cash prices of $121.
Beef packers saw their margins decline to the lowest level since before the Tyson packing plant fire August 9 as beef cutout prices declined and cash cattle prices increased.
Cash cattle prices lost another $2 per cwt. last week, a decline of $7 over two weeks. Coupled with higher input costs on feeder cattle, the decline feedyards with an average $22 per head loss last week.
Cash cattle prices stubbornly steady to $1 higher gave a slight boost to feedyard margins and left packer margins nearly unchanged last week.
Sharply lower cash cattle prices erased $100 per head from closeout profit margins last week and left cattle feeders re-evaluating ideas of a spring rally.
Cattle feeders and pork producers continue to experience significant per head losses as market prices trend lower following slaughter and processing challenges from the COVID-19 pandemic.
Declining cash fed cattle prices erased profit margins for cattle feeders last week, and declining wholesale beef prices cut packer margins by 34%.