Packer
The average cost of feeding a steer to finish weight was 25% higher for cattle marketed last week and is projected to be 31% higher for cattle placed on feed last week at roughly $600 per head.
Profit margins for both cattle and hog finishing operations saw modest gains last week but also carry significantly higher feed costs than a year ago.
Beef packers saw per head losses nearly double last week as wholesale beef prices tumbled $7 per cwt. lower. Pork processors are also found negative margins and producer margins remain short of breakeven.
Packer margins remain in the red even as wholesale beef prices rallied $9 per cwt. and cash cattle prices were near steady.
Cattle prices moved higher last week but cattle feeding margins remain modest. The supply-demand fundamentals are trending in favor of cattle feeders.
The pendulum continues swinging toward cattle feeders as cash prices jumped $3 last week and left packers with their largest negative margins in nearly six years.
Cattle and hog harvest rates were lower last week with higher cash prices paid to farmers and feeders. Margins for both beef and pork packers are trending lower.
Rising wholesale beef prices and declining packing plant utilization are two indicators to watch as the 2023 cattle markets unfold.
Profit margins for cattle feeders increased as cash prices moved higher last week. Pork producers continue operating with negative margins.
Cattle feeding margins declined last week after modest declines in cash cattle prices. Pork producer margins remain underwater.
Cattle feeders experience largest average profits in seven years as packer margins dip into the red.
Profit margins for cattle feeders and packers continue pacing in opposite directions as shrinking supplies of market-ready cattle drive negotiated cash prices higher.
Cattle feeders sold more cattle last week than any week this year and at the highest price in history. Pork producers saw modest profits.
Cattle feeders saw average profits of more than $300 per head last week while pork producers found average losses of about $13 per head.
Record packer margins were the tipping point to attract new capital to the business. There is now angst packer margins will be too low and these new companies won’t survive. But should we encourage government meddling?
Packers desperate to keep their grasp on the cattle market looked to their inventory to keep the pressure on cash prices. Cattle feeders reluctantly traded lower.
Cash cattle prices retreated from the previous week’s historic highs and a seasonal decline was to be expected. Analysts, however, believe another rally is brewing later in the season.
The Packers and Stockyards Act changes may be coming, as the Fiscal Year 2024 Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies Bill has been sent to the full House for consideration.
Set to open in 2025, the Olathe, Kan., plant will further Walmart’s commitment to creating an end-to-end Angus beef supply chain.
Meat processing plants in the U.S. have garnered considerable public attention recently. A new study looks to identify characteristics associated with plant survival and provide crucial information for legislators.
In this time of great leverage cattle feeders are finally discovering what it means to be a market maker and not a market taker.
A significant rally in fed cattle over the past three weeks confirms the front-end supply of cattle remains extremely current and cattle feeders have been willing sellers driven by good profits and a strong basis.
Beef packers appeared unprepared for the rapidly tightening supply of market-ready cattle and the result was a rocket to new cash highs.
Packers were aggressive bidders in all regions as cash fed cattle markets made historic late-season moves higher in the holiday-shortened trading week.
As supplies of market-ready cattle have declined, so has beef packer capacity utilization.
Packers unexpectedly found themselves chasing a limited supply of higher-grading cattle last week and the result was sharply higher prices in the North.
The price spread between Northern cash cattle sales and Southern sales more than doubles as packers struggle to find inventory to maintain acceptable capacity utilization.
The Protein PACT Academic Advisory Council is formed to advise on research priorities and the latest evidence related to meat production and consumption.
The Meat Institute partners with the Information Technology-Information Sharing and Analysis Center to enhance cybersecurity for the meat and poultry industry.
The current front-end supply and winter delayed calf-feds have the northern packers stretched for inventory. Will that aid feeders’ ability to push prices higher in the coming weeks?