Livestock cost of gain is an issue that seemingly is not going away and has heightened the interest in tomorrow’s WASDE report. At current carcass weights, a dollar increase in corn price means about $10 per head for hogs, and for cattle means that cattle will be held back on grass for heavier feedlot placements, but feeding costs are still increasing. The chart below is from Kansas State University’s Focus on Feedlots newsletter showing placement weights and cost of gain for steers projected for current month placements, with WPI’s estimate for March 2021 given current trends.
Though heavier weight cattle will be sought by feeders, they’re likely to be picky about overly fleshy cattle that won’...
What You Need to Know Today: Russia rejected calls for a ceasefire in the Black Sea, including a proposal to halt attacks on civilian shipping that could help restore grain flows from Ukrainian ports. Tyson Foods announced plans to permanently close its Joslin, Illinois, beef processing facili...
The big news in the cattle markets yesterday was Tyson Foods’ move to close two more beef plants. One of them, the Joslin, Illinois, plant was shuttered immediately after the announcement. The other, in Eagle Mountain, Utah, is a case-ready plant that does not slaughter cattle. Tyson also...
The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) released the Consumer Price Index (CPI) on Wednesday. In July, the CPI rose 0.1 percent, seasonally adjusted, and rose 3.4 percent over the last 12 months, not seasonally adjusted. The index for all items less food and energy, or the “core” infla...
