Packer
Cash fed cattle prices ended last week $10 per cwt. lower than last year while the beef cutout closed $16 higher than the same week a year ago. The result? Packer margins $314 per head more than last year.
Profit margins for both cattle and hog finishing operations saw modest gains last week but also carry significantly higher feed costs than a year ago.
The pendulum continues swinging toward cattle feeders as cash prices jumped $3 last week and left packers with their largest negative margins in nearly six years.
Cattle feeding margins declined last week after modest declines in cash cattle prices. Pork producer margins remain underwater.
Judas goats? One of history’s last slaughterhouse witnesses to the bizarre Judas goat spectacle recalls the death parade to the killing floor.
Tyson Foods gave its chicken suppliers two months’ notice of its plan to shut a Virginia processing plant in May, raising concerns among farmers and legal experts about Tyson’s compliance with antitrust regulations.
USDA issued a proposed rulemaking on Monday that would effectively close the “Product of the U.S.A.” loophole that has been in effect since the repeal of COOL in 2015.
Cattle feeders and packers were in a standoff most of the week with cash trading only moderate in all regions. Cattle feeders are in a good position as inventories and carcass weights declining.
Fifteen food and beverage associations sent a letter to President Donald Trump requesting priority access to COVID-19 vaccines to protect workers and keep the food supply chain running.
The bonus is intended to encourage employees to get inoculations, after thousands of U.S. meatpacking workers became infected with the coronavirus last year.