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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.

Cattle and hogs prices both moved higher last week and both enterprises posted profits on closeouts for the first time in several months.

Average cattle feeding margins improved $20 per head last week, which beef packer margins declined 17%. Farrow-to-finish operations recorded per head losses for the fourth consecutive week.

Cattle and hog finishing profit margins were little changed from last week, with modest profits for cattle and losses for hogs. Beef packer margins declined again to their lowest mark since March.

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.

Cattle and hog feeding operations saw their margins remain modestly profitable last week with little movement in cash prices. Both cattle and hog feeding margins are higher than last year at the same time.

Cattle and hog finishing margins are both modestly positive for the seventh consecutive week, though hog margins saw a slight decline with lower lean carcass prices.