Farrow-to- finish margins increased last week averaging an estimated $51 per head with the average Lean Carcass Value for the week up nearly $6/cwt from the prior week and averaging $91.40/cwt. The estimated breakeven price for those hogs was $68/cwt with total costs on the finishing floor at $143.39.
Pork packer/processor margins remain under pressure and declined into the red further last week to average and estimated -$6.51 per head in a market that can only be described and volatile in the face of tariffs. The Pork Cutout Value last week averaged $96/cwt.
Utilization of plant capacity in pork plants increased from the prior week to average an estimated 97.7% as the industry slaughtered 2,530,884 market hogs.
View the full Sterling Pork Profit Tracker for the week ending April 26.
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.)
