Agribusiness Weekly Update: Pork profits plummet

The Agribusiness Weekly Update, compiled from various sources by The City Wire staff, is presented each Tuesday. Sources include the U.S. Department of Agriculture, U.S. Meat Export Federation, and Stephens Inc.

Statistics are for the week ended Feb. 14, 2012, compared to the prior-year period.

Chicken
The chicken processing margin averaged 3 cents a pound, 12-cents better than a year ago. Broiler egg sets were down 6.2% to 193 million eggs. USDA reported breast meat prices averaged $1.18 per pound, up 8 cents from a year ago. Wing prices traded at $1.82 a pound, an all time high, and 74-cents more than a year ago.

Table Eggs
The egg margin averaged 28 cents per dozen, 7 cents below last year. Southeast
egg prices were just below $1 per dozen, down 10 cents from a year ago.

Grains
Cash corn prices finished the week down 12 cents to $6.32 per bushel and 7.4% cheaper than a year ago. Soybeans fell 4 cents to $12.12 per bushel. Prices fell 12.5% from last year.

Beef
U.S. beef packers lost $84.68 per head processed, versus $35.51 profited a year ago.
Cattle slaughter fell 5.8% compared to last year, while beef production was down 5.3%.

Hogs & Pork
Pork processors lost $2.24 per head last week, compared to $6.30 profited last year. Weekly hog slaughter numbers fell  0.9%, while pork production decreased 0.8% compared to 2011.

Dairy
Class I base prices for fluid milk averaged $17 p/cwt. up from $16 a year ago. Cheddar cheese blocks traded in Chicago at $1.41 per pound, down from $1.93 a year ago.

Ethanol & Energy
The ethanol crush margin averaged 34 cents per gallon, down 13 cents from last year and 12 cents above last week. Ethanol averaged $2.21 per gallon, trading at a 76-cent discount to gasoline.