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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 feeders continue to find modest profits on a cash basis despite last week’s $2 per cwt. market retreat.

Cattle feeders and beef packers are both experiencing modest mid-winter profits, though both margins were slightly lower on cash prices of $121.

Despite a $2 decline in cash fed cattle prices, feedyard closeouts reported positive mid-winter results while packer margins held firm.

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.

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.

Based on cash sales of $108.77, cattle closeouts lost an average of $90 per head the week ending March 15.

Declining cash fed cattle prices erased profit margins for cattle feeders last week, and declining wholesale beef prices cut packer margins by 34%.

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.