Download PDF Packers finally had some success in halting the cash cattle market this week. When all of the transactions are tallied and reported on Monday, it looks like the average sale price will be close to $157/cwt., down about $0.75 from the week before. Cattle feeders held out until the end of the week …
Download PDF The pork cutout lost another $3.81/cwt. this week as both bellies and hams failed to gain any traction following the holidays. If the cutout is losing $4 this week after three short kill weeks, it is somewhat scary to think what might happen when kills balloon back to normal next week. Futures traders …
Download PDF This week’s cash cattle trade averaged $157.78/cwt., almost steady with last week. Cattle in the Southern regions traded at about a $1/ cwt. discount to those in the North. The cutout held up very well, with the Choice adding $3.54/cwt. and the Select gaining a whopping $8.19/cwt. Packer margins stayed essentially flat with …
Download PDF Beef buyers appear to have been caught flat-footed by the weather- and holiday-related kill cuts over the past week and a half. Those that needed product immediately helped bid up cuts from nearly every part of the carcass. As a result, the Choice cutout gained almost $14/cwt. on a weekly average basis to …
Download PDF The holidays and last week’s weather forced a kill slowdown by pork packers and that had the effect of improving their margins. The cutout gained $2.51/cwt. on a weekly average basis and the WCB negotiated cash market dropped almost $4.50/cwt. That pushed packer margins up to about $17/head—the largest since early October. Pork …
