Weaner pigs

Hogs placed for finishing last week had a breakeven at $69.49 per head. The estimated total cost for finishing a steer last week was $2,702 per head, according to the Sterling Profit Trackers.

Negotiated cash cattle increased an average of $1.18 per cwt. the week ending Sept. 14 and profit margins dropped by $13 per head to an industry average of $130.66 per head, according to Sterling Marketing. Farrow-to-finish hog producers found positive margins of $16 per head last week, down $2.91 from the previous week.

Beef packers saw significant margin improvement the week ending August 30, while pork packer margins, though down from the previous week, were sharply higher than a year ago.