Welcome to Feedlot Pulse... The source of cattle feeding vital statistics and
analysis.
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Feeder–Fed Price Spreads - 2013 Levels
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By: Shawn Walter |
Published: 03/25/2013 |
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The year 2012 was a record breaking year in many categories. Maybe that is the kind of year that shifts paradigms, or maybe it is the year that reminds everyone why those paradigms exist. While the feeder - fed price spread did not break the record highs set in 2006 which was $22/cwt for the year, it did come within a dollar. |
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Fed Supply Picture Continues to Improve
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By: Shawn Walter |
Published: 03/18/2013 |
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The January 2013 CattleGram article showed that based on the estimated current weight distributions for steers, the fed population was very front-end weighted. Steers weighing over 1200 pounds accounted for 21.5% of the steer population vs 11.5% on January 1, 2012. The message was that January and February slaughter was going to be big, and it was. |
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Seasonal Cost of Gains
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By: Shawn Walter |
Published: 02/21/2013 |
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Cost of gain has a strong seasonal trend during the first quarter of each year. The primary driver in monthly changes in cost of gain is seasonal performance changes. The obvious cause of the seasonal performance is winter weather, but the shift in the on feed “mix” from yearling weighted to calf-fed weighted has a great deal of effect on conversions in particular. |
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Quick Takes
Cost of gains jumped again to exceed $130/cwt for total cost of gain. Most of the increase can be attributed to seasonal performance, but back-calculated closeout average ration prices did inch higher.
Average Daily Gains and Conversions are starting the year very close to the 5 year average but not as good as the last 2 years.
Days on feed are still running well above levels seen the last 5 years and is both a product of lighter placement weights and more days on feed even by placement weight group.