Negotiated cash cattle traded an average of $4.44 per cwt. lower the second week in August and profit margins declined by $67 per head to an industry average of $246 per head, according to the Sterling Beef Profit Tracker. Meanwhile, beef packers saw their losses shrink $8 for an average loss of $127 per head. That puts the packer/feeder margin spread at $373 per head in favor of the feeder.
Sterling Marketing projects annual cow-calf cash margins for 2024 at $536 per cow. That compares to cash margins of $440 per cow in 2023 and $168 per cow in 2022.
Cash cattle averaged $192.06 per cwt. the week ending August 10, while composite wholesale beef prices were mostly steady at $314.44 per cwt. The Beef and Pork Profit Trackers are calculated by Sterling Marketing, Vale, Ore.
By GREG HENDERSON
August 14, 2024
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