Feedyard
Cash prices for both cattle and hogs advanced last week leaving feeding margins for both species solidly in the black. Hog margins were positive for the eighth consecutive week and cattle climbed out of the red.
Cattle feeding margins were little changed from the previous week with modest profits. Hog feeding margins were boosted for a third week with another advance in lean carcass prices.
Cattle feeders saw average profit margins exceed $200 per head last week while pork producers found losses of $44 per head, according to the Sterling Profit Trackers.
Cattle prices held steady last week, but packer margins continue climbing in the greatest squeeze on cattlemen in memory without the influence of a specific black swan event. Pork producers are experiencing euphoria.
Momentum continues to build for cattle feeders as closeouts saw average profits increasing during the final week of 2021. Farrow-to-finish hog operations continue with negative profit margins.
The extended rally in lean hog carcass prices continues and farrow-to-finish hog operations are profitable for the 12th consecutive month. Cattle feeders saw prices slip off of recent highs.
Higher cash cattle prices and lower wholesale beef prices have erased much of the historic profits beef packers saw last year, according to estimates by Sterling Marketing, Inc.
The use of shades in feedlots has made a big difference in the effects of heat on fat cattle, but a few other strategies can help keep cattle cool, enabling cattle to keep gaining, even in the dog days of summer.
Compared to other animals, cattle can’t dissipate their heat load very effectively. Cattle do not sweat effectively and rely on respiration to cool themselves.
Higher cattle prices have calmed much of the producer angst about the market not working. Now seems like a good time to analyze how we think about factors that drive prices.
The Food and Drug Administration would have authority to inspect large feedlots linked to salmonella outbreaks and other foodborne illnesses under the Expanded Food Safety Investigation Act.
As temperatures ratchet up, the disorder is more frequently seen in fed cattle ready for slaughter. Veterinarians offer their take on what contributes to the problem and seven recommendations to help prevent it.
The area was hit especially hard by historic rains on Friday. It is home to several feedyards, with owners and operators trying to assess the number of cows lost due to flood waters rising so quickly.
A misinformation campaign is underway attacking NCBA and endangering the programs that generations of farmers and ranchers worked hard to establish.
Workshop training events for managers and employees of feedyards and related industries are scheduled for June in Kearney, Neb., and Garden City, Kan.
As beef producers, who is our real customer? While there is value in focusing on the person writing the check, it’s also important to keep the whole supply chain in mind, Koester says.
With cattle feeders in the driver’s seat, packers will seek leverage to price cattle for future delivery. They aren’t looking to do feeders a favor with the strategy.
In a steady market, fed prices would typically peak seasonally about now and move lower through the third quarter before increasing to year end, but there is good reason to expect the uptrend will continue in 2023.
There are few options once muddy conditions are in place, so preventive practices are key. Here’s some tips for protecting livestock health and managing muddy conditions.
Sound management, health protocols and facilities maintenance can help achieve the ultimate goal of keeping cattle healthy and productive.
Equine leaders will discuss the importance and sustainability of the working ranch horse at NIAA’s Annual Conference in April.
Oklahoma State University meat scientist Gretchen Mafi has studied the scientific differences between beef that comes from animals finished on a grain diet versus those animals finished on grass.
From a cash price perspective, both cattle and beef markets continue on a relatively bullish run the past few weeks. Meanwhile, winter weather has hindered feedyard performance this season.
Real-world data confirms cattlemen are rewarded for high-quality carcasses through grid pricing. Why, then, would/should the industry regress back to selling more cattle on a cash basis?
Veterinarians and researchers have hypothesized why H. somni is becoming more widespread and increasingly prevalent, but there is not a clear culprit.
When cattle diets are changed without an adaptation period or if cattle have sudden access to a new feedstuff, health problems can follow.
Providing bedding is one of the time-tested strategies for dealing with winter weather. But how does bedding affect the bottom-line?
Packers waited as long as possible last week, grudgingly pushing the market higher with trades well into Friday’s happy hour and some even on the weekend.
Has the ‘golden ticket’ to cattle feeding efficiency and carcass yield with reduction in methane gas emissions and wet waste been found? FBN, along with its partner, Boveta Nutrition, LLC, believe so.
PenPoint Sort is a bolt-on chute technology system that helps simplify the difficult task of objectively measuring and sorting cattle.