Feedyard
Average cattle feeding margins improved $20 per head last week, which beef packer margins declined 17%. Farrow-to-finish operations recorded per head losses for the fourth consecutive week.
Cattle and hog finishing profit margins were little changed from last week, with modest profits for cattle and losses for hogs. Beef packer margins declined again to their lowest mark since March.
Cattle and hog feeding margins were little changed last week, with both recording modest losses. Beef packers saw improved margins on significant gains in wholesale beef prices.
Cattle and hog finishing margins were modestly positive the first week of December, marking the 11th consecutive week of profitability. Packer margins remain historically high.
Beef packer leverage is evident with cash cattle prices $7 per cwt. lower than the same week a year ago and beef cutout prices $23 per cwt. higher. Pork producers are gaining leverage with a $5 per cwt. price rally.
Cash fed cattle prices ended last week $10 per cwt. lower than last year while the beef cutout closed $16 higher than the same week a year ago. The result? Packer margins $314 per head more than last year.
On a percentage basis, beef packer margins declined significantly last week. It’s all relative, of course, since the starting point from the previous week was stunning.
Cattle and hog feeding both saw solid average profits for the week ending April 2, boosted by higher average farmgate prices. Cattle were positive for the second week, while positive hog margins entered a third month.
Cattle and hog feeding operations are experiencing the highest market prices since before the pandemic began more than a year ago. Hog margins were positive for the 11th consecutive week.
Market hogs sold last week earned an average profit margins nearly four times that of fed steers. That’s mainly due to a rally that has added more than $20 per cwt. to lean hog carcass prices over the past month.
Cattle and hog finishing margins were headed in opposite directions last week, with lean hog prices enjoying a three-week rally while cattle prices were stuck in neutral for a second week.
Market hogs found twice the profit margin of fed steers last week due to a rally that has added nearly $22 per cwt. to lean hog carcass prices over the past month, while cash cattle prices have been stuck in neutral.
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.