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Cattle feeders turned a tidy profit for the second consecutive week.

Cattle feeding margins slipped further into the red last week on soft cash prices, while packer margins climbed to extreme heights.

Beef packers saw their margins decline to the lowest level since before the Tyson packing plant fire August 9 as beef cutout prices declined and cash cattle prices increased.

After reaching historic levels earlier this fall, beef packer margins have experienced steady declines over the past month as cattle prices have increased.

AgDay’s Clinton Griffiths shares an update on this week’s top headlines.

Feedyard closeouts improved modestly last week with a $1 increase in cash fed cattle prices. Packer margins increased on the extended rally to the beef cutout price.

Pork producer margins dropped $15 per head last week due to a $7.59 per cwt. decline in lean carcass prices.

Last week’s $1 increase in cash fed cattle prices did little for feedyard profits, but the $6.40 rally in wholesale beef prices added another $25 onto already large packer margins.

Both cattle and hog feeding enterprises continue showing modest losses while packers remain solidly profitable.

Average feedyard close-outs were printed in black ink last week for the first time in several months after a $3 per cwt. rally in cash cattle prices.