Profit Tracker
Check out Sterling Marketing’s Pork Profit Tracker for the week ending March 14.
Farrow-to-finish margin $47.33, up from a week ago.
Hog slaughter slightly up from week ago, calculated breakeven price at $69.96.
Beef packers saw losses of $195.60 per head and pork packers saw losses of $1.41 per head.
Cash cattle decreased slightly at $202.85 per cwt., while lean carcass hog prices came in higher at $89.67 per cwt.
Cash cattle decreased slightly at $207.25 per cwt., while lean carcass hog prices came in slightly higher at $85.78 per cwt.
Cash cattle remained steady at $209.97 per cwt., while lean carcass hog prices came in slightly higher at $85.56 per cwt.
Cash cattle averaged $202.96 per cwt., up from last week, while lean carcass hog prices were slightly down at $81.08 per cwt.
Cash cattle averaged $199.48 per cwt. while lean carcass hog prices were at $81.79 per cwt., both up from last week.
Cash cattle averaged $195.68 per cwt. while lean carcass hog prices were at $81.02 per cwt., both up slightly from last week.
Cash cattle averaged $194.99 per cwt. while lean carcass hog prices were at $80.35 per cwt.
The packer/feeder margin spread grew this week in favor of the feeder at $285 per head while pork producers found positive margins of $39.77.
Margins widened this week this week for pork and beef producers while packer margins remain in the red for beef at -$34.67 and decreased for pork to $8.65.
The estimated total cost for finishing a steer last week was $2,770 per head. Hogs placed for finishing last week had a breakeven at $68.36 per head.
While feedlot margins are declining in the beef industry, hog margins are increasing for U.S. pork producers. Here’s a look at the latest Profit Tracker from Sterling Marketing.
Hogs placed for finishing last week had a breakeven at $69.49 per head. The estimated total cost for finishing a steer last week was $2,702 per head, according to the Sterling Profit Trackers.
How did the beef and pork markets shake out last week?
Beef packers saw profits increase $26 per head to a total loss of $86 per head. That puts the packer/feeder margin spread at $289 per head in favor of the feeder. Meanwhile, pork packers saw average profits of $25 per head, up $2.68 from the previous week.
John Nalivka of Sterling Marketing shares his weekly Beef and Pork Profit Trackers, giving us a deeper look at what’s going on in the markets.
Negotiated cash cattle increased an average of $2.20 per cwt. the week ending Sept. 28. Farrow-to-finish hog producers found positive margins of $8.55 per head last week, down $1.75 from the previous week.
The Grinch is writing closeouts ahead of the holidays as cattle and hog profit margins tumble to their lowest point since the summer of 2020, just months into the COVID pandemic.
Beef packers saw profits drop $54 per head to a loss of $18 per head. Pork packers saw average profits of $20 per head, down $2 from the previous week.
Negotiated cash cattle increased an average of $1.18 per cwt. the week ending Sept. 14 and profit margins dropped by $13 per head to an industry average of $130.66 per head, according to Sterling Marketing. Farrow-to-finish hog producers found positive margins of $16 per head last week, down $2.91 from the previous week.
The key is demand and managing feedlot break-evens as cattle numbers continue to decline, says John Nalivka, president of Sterling Marketing Inc.
Beef packers were forced to pay up to acquire inventory last week and the result was a boost to feedyard profits and increasing packer losses. Pork prices and margins saw little change.
Cattle feeding margins remain near historic levels but the cost of replacements continue pushing breakevens to all-time highs. Pork producer profits hold above $50 per head.
A rally in cash cattle prices lifted cattle feeding margins more than $100 per head and left packers mired in red ink. Pork margins have held firm in the mid-$40s for six weeks.
Little change was found for livestock feeders last week as near identical week-to-week market prices held margins solidly in the black. Beef packers saw modest improvement with higher wholesale beef prices.
After briefly exceeding $400 per head, cattle feeding margins tumbled $75 last week, but the balance didn’t go to the packer as their losses increased. Pork margins held firm.
Cattle feeding margins exceeded $400 per head as cash prices improved $2 per cwt. and production costs declined modestly. Pork margins saw a slight decline but remain solidly above $40 per head.