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Cattle feeding and packer profit margins were mostly steady the week ending December 21, with cash prices for fed cattle slightly higher.

Cattle feeding and packer profit margins were mostly steady the week ending December 21, with cash prices for fed cattle slightly higher.

Cattle feeding and packer profit margins both declined last week as cash cattle prices were modestly lower.

Cattle feeding and packer profit margins both declined last week as cash cattle prices were modestly lower.

Cattle feeding profits improved for the third consecutive week as cash fed cattle prices gained $1 per cwt.

Higher fed cattle prices ahead of the Thanksgiving holiday helped lift cattle feeding margins modestly.

Feedlot closeouts averaged a profit of $22 per head last week, while packer margins remain above $200.

Cattle feeders saw closeouts with an average profit of $58 per head last week, down modestly from the week before.

Packer margins have grown to exceptionally high levels in recent weeks, while feedyard profits have eroded.

Packer margins have grown to exceptionally high levels in recent weeks, while feedyard profits have eroded.

Packer margins advanced on softer cash cattle prices and gain in the beef cutout prices.

Packer margins advanced on softer cash cattle prices and gain in the beef cutout prices.

Beef cutout prices jumped $7.22 per cwt. last week, boosting packer profits $40 per head.

Feedyard margins climbed back into triple digits last week with a $1 to $2 price rally.

Feedyard margins climbed back into triple digits last week with a $1 to $2 price rally.

Feedyard closeouts revealed profits of $92 per head last week after two weeks of losses.

Feedyards lost an average of $43 per head last week, nearly $7 more than the week before, while packer profits remain in triple-digits.

Remaining cattle feeding profits were erased last week with a $4 decline in the cash market.

Cattle feeding profits declined $50 per head last week while packer margins improved to more than $170.

Both cattle feeding and packer margins held firm at solidly profitable levels.

Cattle feeding margins slipped as the cost of feeder cattle increased in last week's closeouts.

Steady to $1 higher cash fed cattle prices upped cattle feeding margins $20 per head to $194, according to the Sterling Beef Profit Tracker.

Cattle feeding margins held firm last week while packer margins more than doubled.

A $2 per cwt. dip in cash cattle prices cut $32 of closeout margins last week, but added $46 to packer margins.

Cash cattle prices rallied $3-plus per cwt. last week, and average feedyard margins remain above $200 per head.

Cash cattle prices dipped slightly last week, with a similar decline in closeout margins.

Feedyard closeouts improved $55 per head last week after a $4 price rally.

A $3 rally in fed cattle prices pushed profit margins to more than $200 per head last week.

A weaker cash cattle market produced stronger profit margins for both packers and feedyards last week

Cattle feeders, pork producers and packers for both segments found solid profits during the first week of the New Year.

Cattle feeding profits more than doubled last week, a bounce due to a $3 rally in cash fed cattle prices.

Feedyard closeouts recorded solid, yet declining profits on cattle marketed last week, according to the Sterling Beef Profit Tracker.

A rally in cash fed cattle prices helped boost average feedyard profits to $99 per head.

Feedyard closeouts took a hit from last week’s $3 per cwt. decline in cash prices, but average margins remain above $77 per head.

last week's $2 per cwt. rally in fed cattle prices helped boost feedyard closeouts $41 per head to average profits of $131 per head.

Cash fed cattle prices declined 50 cents per cwt. last week, but average feedyard closeouts showed profits of nearly $90 per head.

Cash fed cattle prices declined more than $4 per cwt. last week, fueling a $28 per head decline in cattle feeding margins.

Cash fed cattle prices dipped just $1 per cwt., but cattle feeding profit margins declined $111 per head last week to $57.

The two-week rally in fed cattle prices has added more than $150 per head to profit margins.

Packers resisted paying higher money last week right up to happy hour on Friday. The feet-dragging suggested their profit margins would look bleak when the dust settled.

Cattle feeding remains slightly better than breakeven while packers turn a tidy profit.

Last week's $2 fed cattle rally lifted feedyard margins into the black.

Cattle feeders lost an average of $13 per head last week, breaking a string of 46 consecutive weeks of profitability dating back to November of last year.

Average feedyard margins declined $18 per head last week, settling at $26. With average margins that close to breakeven, many cattle sold last week undoubtedly lost money.

Feedyard profit margins rebounded slightly after last week’s $2 rally in the cash fed cattle market.

Feedyard profit margins rebounded slightly after last week’s $2 rally in the cash fed cattle market.

The disparity between packer and feeder margins remains relatively wide.

Market prices moved very little last week, but both sectors saw modest increases in their profit margins.

Closeouts remain in the black, but margins are razor thin.

Feeding margins continue to shrink as cattle prices retreat.