Cattle feeders are finding profits early in the New Year, but costs of production continue rising. Cattle placed on feed last week project to have the highest breakeven price since July of 2015 at $154.72 per cwt.
Market-ready steers sold the week ending Jan. 7 produced average profits of $138 per head, according to the Sterling Beef Profit Tracker. Meanwhile, beef packers saw average profits of $168 per head. Last year beef packers saw average profits of $316 per head.
The 5-area price for fed cattle closed about steady at $158.15 per cwt. while the beef cutout increased $2.28 per cwt. to $280.04 per cwt. for the week, closing at $262.45, which is $13.97 per cwt. higher than a year ago.
Costs associated with finishing cattle have increased dramatically since April. Cattle sold last week carried a total feed cost of $573 per head, which is 21% higher than the $451 feed costs for cattle sold the same week a year ago. The Beef and Pork Profit Trackers are calculated by Sterling Marketing, Vale, Oregon.
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