The pork industry went through the week with little change from the prior week. The Lean Carcass Value averaged $111.93/cwt., which maintained farrow-to-finish margins at an estimated $94/head.
Breakeven prices continue to fall with falling grain and meal prices with the breakeven for hogs placed on the finishing floor last week estimated at $63/cwt. With the Pork Cutout averaging $116.22/cwt. and down $2/cwt. from the prior week, packers saw margins slip into the red -$2.72/head.
Plant capacity utilization hovered near 88% for the week and about unchanged from the prior week.
View the full Sterling Pork Profit Tracker for the week ending August 1.
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.)
