Profit margins for farrow-to-finish producers continued to erode last week as the W. Corn Belt Lean Carcass price was down $7/cwt. from the prior week and averaged $59.62/cwt. Sterling’s estimated average margin last week fell to a negative $14.56/head. A year ago, producers saw an average margin of $41.42/head for the week.
Hog numbers are plentiful with total hog slaughter remaining at 2.6 million head, keeping plant capacity utilization hovering around 98%. Packer margins continued to improve with Sterling’s estimate for the week’s average at $16.82/head compared to $11.39/head the prior week.
View the full Sterling Pork Profit Tracker for the week ending Oct. 31.
The Beef and Pork Profit Trackers are calculated by Sterling Marketing, Vale, Ore.
(Note: The Sterling Beef Profit Tracker calculates an average beef cutout value for the week in its estimates for feedyard and packer margins. Other prices in the weekly Profit Tracker also are calculated weekly averages. Feedyard margins are calculated on a cash basis only with no adjustment for risk management practices. The Beef and Pork Profit Trackers are intended only as a benchmark for the average cash costs of feeding cattle and hogs. Sterling Marketing is a private, independent beef and pork consulting firm not associated with any packing company or livestock feeding enterprise.)
