Despite recent decreases in feeder cattle futures and rising feedstuff costs, estimated cow-calf producer margins are largely unchanged from WPI’s October estimate. The stable and positive financial environment means that producers are still facing strong financial incentives to expand the U.S. beef cow herd in 2025.Cow-calf margins so far in November are down fractionally from the prior month’s estimate, due to declines in calf and feeder cattle values, a dip in cull cow values, and a slight uptick in feed costs. Despite the 1 percent decrease in monthly-average feeder cattle futures prices from October to November, the cash calf and feeder cattle markets have shown greater strength. Of particular note is the $2.44/cwt increase in steer ca...

TAGS – Livestock, North America