Marketing-Communications
With cash cattle prices tumbling another $4 per cwt lower, cattle feeding margins fell accordingly.
Cattle feeding margins eroded $62 per head last week, falling $35 into negative territory.
The dog days of summer are here for cattle producers as red ink continues seeping into feedlot ledgers.
Last week’s $2 per cwt cash cattle rally lifted feedyard margins to breakeven.
Last week’s $1 per cwt retreat in cash cattle prices took feedyard margins only modestly lower.
A $1 decline in average fed cattle prices and a $25 per head increase in the cost of feeder cattle pushed cattle feeding losses to $52 per head last week.
Feedyard margins saw only slight improvement last week as direct trade prices held steady.
The red ink has started to slow down for feedlots and cattle prices have rallied lately, giving beef producers something to be thankful for.
Cattle feeders earned a small profit on cattle sold last week, the first positive closeouts in months.
Cattle feeders turned a tidy profit for the second consecutive week.
Normally when profit margins decline $50-plus per head there’s no rejoicing.
Cattle feeders earned average profits of $68 per head last week, $30 per head more than the previous week.
Last week’s $4-plus rally in cash fed cattle prices cut average feedyard losses in half, leaving the red ink totaling $90 on every animal shipped.
Feedyard margins improved last week despite a $3 per cwt. decline in cash cattle prices.
Last week’s market rally helped feedyards erase much of their red ink, but not all.
Feedlot closeouts continue ending on positive notes.
Cattle feeders turned a profit for the eighth consecutive week.
Cattle feeders saw positive margins on closeouts for the ninth consecutive week.
Feedyard margins declined $28 per head last week to total an average loss of $70 per head, according to the Sterling Beef Profit Tracker.
Feedyard margins dropped another $20 last week to total an average loss of $90 per head, according to the Sterling Beef Profit Tracker.
Calling losses of $193 per head an improvement may be painful, but it’s accurate.
Consider what passersby think when they see your headquarters or machinery on the highway. Do you want them to draw their own conclusions, or do you want to be the one telling the story?
There are few losers in the cattle market right now. From packers all the way down to cow-calf producers, current prices this summer are turning profits far into what is typically a seasonal lull.
Prices were higher for all classes of cattle for the week ended Oct. 13, with cash fed cattle trading at $111 per cwt., $2 higher. Cattle sold on a dressed basis at $175 per cwt., $2 to $3 higher.
Following two days of falling cattle futures prices, Joe Vaclavik, president of Standard Grain, is calling the market moves a knee-jerk reaction to the latest Cattle on Feed report from the USDA.
The U.S. Meat Export Federation (USMEF) said Japan is continuing to buy U.S. beef. Exports to the island country continued to gain momentum in June, with volume up 7 percent and value up 13 percent compared to 2016.
Cattle markets moved lower this week, spurred by futures markets that nosedived on Wednesday.