Profit Tracker: Cattle, Hog Margins Steady in Red
Santa delivered another lump of coal to cattle feeders for the week ending Dec. 23 as losses totaled an average of $110 per head, according to the Sterling Beef Profit Tracker. Meanwhile, beef packers found average margins of $14 per head, a decline of $15 per head from the previous week. Cattle feeders have now experienced five consecutive week’s with negative margins.
For the week ending Dec. 23, cash cattle prices averaged $170.39 per cwt., which is roughly $2 higher than the previous week. Wholesale beef prices posted an average of $285.69 per cwt., roughly $1.40 per cwt. lower than the previous week. The Beef and Pork Profit Trackers are calculated by Sterling Marketing, Vale, Ore.
Cattle sold last week carried a total feed cost of $440 per head, up about $2 per head from the previous week, and about $72 less than feed costs for cattle sold the same week a month ago. Feed costs are 22% lower than a year ago.
Cattle marketed last week had a breakeven of $178.27 per cwt., while cattle placed on feed last week have a breakeven of $166.46 per cwt., which is about $2 per cwt. higher than a month ago. Cattle placed last week are calculated to have a purchase price for 750-800 lb. feeder steers at $225.87 per cwt., or $1 per cwt. more than a month ago. The feeder steer price is 22% higher than last year.
The estimated total cost for finishing a steer last week was $2,496 per head, up 19% from last year’s estimate of $2,029 per head.
Fed cattle slaughter totaled an estimated 481,896 head, down 22,000 head from the previous week and 65,000 more than the same week last year. Packing plant capacity utilization was estimated at 82.3% compared to 72.8% last year.
Farrow-to-finish hog producers saw losses of $58 per head last week, about $1 more than losses the previous week. Pork producers saw losses of about $10 per head the same week a year ago. Lean carcass prices averaged $49.71 per cwt., or $1.25 per cwt. lower than the previous week and down $32.42 from last year (-40%).
Pork packers saw profits of about $60 per head, or $2 per head less than the previous week, and their second best profit margins since October 2021. Last year pork packers saw profits of $2 per head. Hog slaughter was estimated at 2.426 million head, down 256,000 head from the previous week and up 643,000 head from last year.
Pork packer capacity utilization was estimated at 89.9% compared to 64.3% last year.
(Note: The Sterling Beef Profit Tracker calculates an average beef cutout value for the week in its estimates for feedyard and packer margins. Other prices in the weekly Profit Tracker also are calculated weekly averages. Feedyard margins are calculated on a cash basis only with no adjustment for risk management practices. The Beef and Pork Profit Trackers are intended only as a benchmark for the average cash costs of feeding cattle and hogs. Sterling Marketing is a private, independent beef and pork consulting firm not associated with any packing company or livestock feeding enterprise.)
