Negotiated cash cattle sold $1.30 per cwt. lower last week and feedyard margins were reduced by $75 per head for an industry average profit of $327. Meanwhile, beef packers saw their margins slip another $2 with losses of $86 per head the industry average, according to the Sterling Beef Profit Tracker. That puts the packer/feeder margin spread at $413 per head in favor of the feeder.
Cash cattle averaged $189.82 per cwt. the week ending June 1, while composite wholesale beef prices posted $2.57 per cwt. gains to close at $310.69 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 $376.42 per head, up $2.98 per head from the previous week, and about $204 less than feed costs for cattle sold the same week a year ago.
By GREG HENDERSON
June 6, 2024
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