Profit Tracker: Feeding Margins Improve, Packers in Black

Cash cattle prices saw an average $1.30 per cwt. gain last week which improved closeouts by $50 per head, leaving per head losses at $84. Beef packers saw their margins improve $39 per head, erasing $11 per head loss and adding a $28 per head profit, according to the Sterling Beef Profit Tracker.

Cash cattle averaged $175.65 per cwt. last week while wholesale beef prices improved $6 per cwt. to $297.25 per cwt. The Beef and Pork Profit Trackers are calculated by Sterling Marketing, Vale, Ore.

Cattle sold last week carried a total feed cost of $426 per head, down about $3 per head from the previous week, and about $146 less than feed costs for cattle sold the same week a year ago.

Cattle marketed last week had a breakeven of $181.68 per cwt., while cattle placed on feed last week have a breakeven of $166.02 per cwt., which is about equal to a month ago. Cattle placed last week are calculated to have a purchase price for 750-800 lb. feeder steers at $227.77 per cwt., or $2 per cwt. more than a month ago. The feeder steer price is 22% higher than last year.

The estimated total cost for finishing a steer last week was $2,543 per head, up 15% from last year’s estimate of $2,152 per head.

Fed cattle slaughter totaled an estimated 485,748, down 18,000 head from the same week last year. Packing plant capacity utilization was estimated at 82.9% compared to 86.0% last year.

Farrow-to-finish hog producers saw losses of $38 per head last week, about $12 less than losses the previous week. Pork producer margins have now been negative every week for the past year. Lean carcass prices averaged $53.89 per cwt., $4.93 per cwt. higher than the previous week and down $19.64 from last year (-27%).

Pork packers saw profits of about $65 per head, or $9 per head less than the previous week, still the second best profit week since January 2022. Last year pork packers saw profits of $6 per head. Hog slaughter was estimated at 2.719 million head, up 89,000 head from the previous week and up 173,000 head from last year.

Pork packer capacity utilization was estimated at 100.5% compared to 92.0% last year.