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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.

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.

Sharply higher beef cutout values produced windfall profits for beef packers last week while cattle feeders saw closeouts with average losses about steady, 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 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.

Cattle feeders saw modest profits for the 10th consecutive week, a headline-worthy observation in normal times. The beef complex is not operating in normal times.

Cattle and hog finishing margins remain positive for the sixth consecutive week, but cash prices for both declined modesty last week and margins eroded.

Both cattle feeding and hog finishing operations found modest profits for the fifth consecutive week calculated on a cash basis, according to the Sterling Profit Tracker.

Closeouts on cattle and hogs marketed last week remain modestly profitable for the sixth consecutive week, according to calculations by Sterling Marketing.