Feeder pigs

Profit Tracker: Pork and Beef Margins Remain Steady

Wed, 30 Oct 2024 23:07:18 GMT

Negotiated cash cattle increased $2.48 per cwt. the week ending Oct. 25 while feedlot margins dropped $32 per head to an industry average of $190.18 per head, according to the Sterling Beef Profit Tracker. Meanwhile, beef packers saw profits increase $37 per head to a gain of $15.54 per head. That puts the packer/feeder margin spread at $175 per head in favor of the feeder.

Cash cattle averaged $190.04 per cwt. the week ending Oct. 25, while Comprehensive Beef Cutout prices posted a $4.43 per cwt. gain to close at $315.41 per cwt.

Cattle marketed last week carried a total feed cost of $466.90 per head, about $14 more than feed costs for cattle sold the same week a year ago.

Cattle placed last week are calculated to have a purchase price for 750-800 lb. feeder steers at $254.17 per cwt., or $5 more per cwt. less than a month ago.

The estimated total cost for finishing a steer last week was $2,702 per head, up from last year’s estimate of $2,514 per head.

Fed cattle slaughter totaled an estimated 500,269 up 10,280 head from the same week last year. Packing plant capacity utilization was estimated at 85.8% compared to 83.7% last year.

View the full Sterling Beef Profit Tracker for the week ending Oct. 25.

Farrow-to-finish hog producers found positive margins of $9.37 per head last week, up $5.12 from the previous week, according to the Sterling Pork Profit Tracker. A year ago, those margins were at -$25.44. Lean carcass prices averaged $78.68 per cwt., up $2 from the previous week.

Hogs placed for finishing last week had a breakeven at $69.49 per head.

Pork packers saw average profits of $29 per head, up $1.65 from the previous week. Last year pork packer margins were $19.66. Hog slaughter was estimated at 2.531 million head, down 18,132 head from the same week last year.

Pork packer capacity utilization was estimated at 96.6% compared to 97.0% last year.

View the full Sterling Pork Profit Tracker for the week ending Oct. 25.

The Beef and Pork Profit Trackers are calculated by Sterling Marketing, Vale, Ore.

(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.)

Your Next Read:

Profit Tracker: Beef and Pork Producers See Drop in Margins

Fri, 20 Sep 2024 17:43:10 GMT

Negotiated cash cattle increased an average of $1.18 per cwt. the week ending Sept. 14 and profit margins dropped by $13 per head to an industry average of $130.66 per head, according to the Sterling Beef Profit Tracker. Meanwhile, beef packers saw profits increase $3 per head to a gain of $33 per head. That puts the packer/feeder margin spread at $97 per head in favor of the feeder.

Cash cattle averaged $182.45 per cwt. the week ending Sept. 14, while composite wholesale beef prices posted a $4 per cwt. loss to close at $308.10 per cwt.

Cattle marketed last week carried a total feed cost of $365.75 per head, about $45 less than feed costs for cattle sold the same week a year ago.

Cattle placed last week are calculated to have a purchase price for 750-800 lb. feeder steers at $245 per cwt., or $7 per cwt. less than a month ago.

The estimated total cost for finishing a steer last week was $2,515 per head, down from last year’s estimate of $2,631 per head.

Fed cattle slaughter totaled an estimated 503,753 up 32,227 head from the same week last year. Packing plant capacity utilization was estimated at 86% compared to 81% last year.

View the full Sterling Beef Profit Tracker for the week ending Sept. 14.

Farrow-to-finish hog producers found positive margins of $16 per head last week, down $2.91 from the previous week, according to the Sterling Pork Profit Tracker Lean carcass prices averaged $79.27 per cwt., down $0.89 per cwt. from the previous week.

Hogs placed for finishing last week had a breakeven at $67.05 per head.

Pork packers saw average profits of $20 per head, down $2 from the previous week. Last year pork packer margins were $27.82. Hog slaughter was estimated at 2.313 million head, up 35,812 head from the same week last year.

Pork packer capacity utilization was estimated at 88.3% compared to 86.9% last year.

View the full Sterling Pork Profit Tracker for the week ending Sept. 14.

The Beef and Pork Profit Trackers are calculated by Sterling Marketing, Vale, Ore.

(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.)

Your Next Read: Never Let Up: Wean Pig Health and Nutrition Depends on You

Profit Tracker: Beef and Pork Packers See Higher Margins

Fri, 06 Sep 2024 01:42:36 GMT

Beef packers saw significant margin improvement the week ending August 30, while pork packer margins, though down from the previous week, were sharply higher than a year ago, says John Nalivka, president of Sterling Marketing Inc.

Negotiated cash cattle retreated an average of $2.14 per cwt. the week ending Aug. 31 and profit margins dropped by $57 per head to an industry average of $38 per head, according to the Sterling Beef Profit Tracker. Meanwhile, beef packers saw losses improve $14 per head to a gain of $10 per head. That puts the packer/feeder margin spread at $28 per head in favor of the feeder.

Cash cattle averaged $184.03 per cwt. the week ending Aug. 31, while composite wholesale beef prices posted a $4.06 per cwt. loss to close at $313.57 per cwt.

Cattle marketed last week carried a total feed cost of $344.10 per head, up $1.66 per head from the previous week, and about $204 less than feed costs for cattle sold the same week a year ago.

Cattle marketed last week had a breakeven of $181.28 per cwt., while cattle placed on feed last week have a breakeven of $179.38 per cwt., which is about $1.90 per cwt. higher than the previous week and $25.79 per cwt. higher than the same week a year ago. Cattle placed last week are calculated to have a purchase price for 750-800 lb. feeder steers at $245 per cwt., or $18 per cwt. less than a month ago.

The estimated total cost for finishing a steer (including the first cost of the feeder steer) last week was $2,538 per head, up 14% from last year’s estimate of $2,177 per head.

Fed cattle slaughter totaled an estimated 498,576 up 6,072 head from the same week last year. Packing plant capacity utilization was estimated at 85.1% compared to 84.1% last year.

View the full Sterling Beef Profit Tracker for the week ending Aug. 31.

Farrow-to-finish hog producers found positive margins of $21 per head last week, down $10 from the previous week, according to the Sterling Pork Profit Tracker Lean carcass prices averaged $81.11 per cwt., up $7.35 per cwt. from the previous week.

Hogs placed for finishing last week had a breakeven at $65.41 per head.

Pork packers saw average profits of $21 per head, down $3.37 from the previous week. Last year pork packer margins were $9.04. Hog slaughter was estimated at 2.371 million head, down 51,295 head from the same week last year.

Pork packer capacity utilization was estimated at 90.5% compared to 92.4% last year.

View the full Sterling Pork Profit Tracker for the week ending Aug. 31.

The Beef and Pork Profit Trackers are calculated by Sterling Marketing, Vale, Ore.

(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.)

Packer, Feedlot Margins Post Declines

Thu, 22 Sep 2022 04:55:39 GMT

While cash cattle prices slipped only modestly, cattle feeders saw margins erode by $86 per head, falling from an average profit of $38 two weeks ago to an average loss of $49 per head last week. Cash cattle traded at $111, steady with the previous week, and packer margins declined $33 per head to $173, according to the Sterling Beef Profit Tracker .

The beef cutout declined $0.50 per cwt., closing at $203.35. The cost of finishing a steer last week was calculated at $1,569, which is $92 higher than the $1,477 a year ago. The Beef and Pork Profit Trackers are calculated by Sterling Marketing Inc., Vale, Ore.

A year ago cattle feeders were turning a slight profit of $10 per head. Feeder cattle represent 73% of the cost of finishing a steer compared with 74% a year ago.

Farrow-to-finish pork producers saw their margins improve $19 per head to a negative $11 per head. Lean carcass prices traded at $58.79 per cwt., $8.68 per cwt. higher than the previous week, and $17.95 higher than a month ago. A year ago pork producers lost an average of $14 per head. Pork packer margins averaged a profit of $31 per head last week.

Cash prices for fed cattle are $2 per cwt. higher than the same week last year. Lean hog prices are about $6 per cwt. higher than last year.

Sterling Marketing president John Nalivka projects cash profit margins for cow-calf producers in 2018 will average $146 per cow. That would be $12 per head less than the estimated average profit of $158 for 2017. Estimated average cow-calf margins were $173 in 2016, and $438 per cow in 2015.

For feedyards, Nalivka projects an average profit of $31 per head in 2018, which would be $150 less than the average of $181 per head in 2017. Nalivka expects packer margins to average about $159 per head in 2018, up from $120 in 2017.

For farrow-to-finish pork producers, Nalivka projects 2018 profit margins will average a loss of $5 per head in 2018, compared to profits of $21 in 2017. Pork packers are projected to earn $21 per head in 2018, down from $25 profit per head in 2017.