Search - 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.

As expected, beef packer margins jumped wildly higher the week ending Aug. 17, while cattle feeding margins slipped into the red.

Cattle feeding margins slipped further into the red last week on soft cash prices, while packer margins climbed to extreme heights.

Last week’s $2 rally in cash cattle prices helped narrow the spread between feedyard losses and packer profits.

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 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.

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.

Despite an average $1 decline in cash fed cattle prices last week, cattle feeding margins remained solidly profitable on a cash basis.