Profit Tracker: Feed Costs Decline, Margins Improve
Cattle feeding margins gained $30 per head the week ending Oct. 21, and average profits were estimated at $327 per head, according to the Sterling Beef Profit Tracker. Beef packer margins were nearly steady and remain about $75 per head underwater. The packer-feeder margin spread was $402 per head advantage cattle feeders.
For the week ending Oct. 21, cash cattle prices averaged $186.48 per cwt., up about $1.59 per cwt. from the previous week. That price is 20% higher than last year’s $150.53 per cwt. cash price.
Wholesale beef prices posted an average of $300.31 per cwt., a $3.18 per cwt. gain from 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 $511 per head, down about $7 per head from the previous week, and about $53 less than feed costs for cattle sold the same week a month ago.
Cattle marketed last week had a breakeven of $163.15 per cwt., while cattle placed on feed last week have a breakeven of $177.02 per cwt. Cattle placed last week are calculated to have a purchase price for 750-800 lb. feeder steers at $242.59 per cwt., and feed costs of $388.02 per head. The feeder steer price is 28% higher than last year.
The estimated total cost for finishing a steer last week was $2,284 per head, up 15% from last year’s estimate of $1,950 per head.
Farrow-to-finish hog producers saw losses of $13 per head last week, about $2 per head decline compared to the previous week. Pork producers saw profits of $18 per head the same week a year ago. Lean carcass prices averaged $74.58 per cwt., down $1.38 per cwt. from the previous week.
Pork packers closed the week with $20 per head profits, down $5 per head from the previous week. Last year pork packer margins were about breakeven. Hog slaughter was estimated at 2.610 million head, up 1,000 head from the week before and up 40,000 head from last year.
Pork packer capacity utilization was estimated at 96.0% compared to 93.1% 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.)
