Cattle and hog finishing margins are both modestly positive for the seventh consecutive week, though hog margins saw a slight decline with lower lean carcass prices.
Cattle feeders saw modest profits for the 10th consecutive week, a headline-worthy observation in normal times. The beef complex is not operating in normal times.
Cattle and hog feeding operations saw their margins remain modestly profitable last week with little movement in cash prices. Both cattle and hog feeding margins are higher than last year at the same time.
Closeouts on cattle and hogs marketed last week remain modestly profitable for the sixth consecutive week, according to calculations by Sterling Marketing.
Average feedyard closeouts saw modest profits for cattle last week as cash prices improved. Hog finishing margins declined from near breakeven to a loss of $6 per head.
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.
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.
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.
