Agribusiness Weekly Update: More beef and pork in cold storage

Beef
U.S. beef packers lost $77.84 per head processed, versus 91cents pocketed a year ago. Cattle slaughter was down 4.9%, while beef production fell 4.6% from a year ago. Beef in cold storage at the end of March was up 14% from a year ago, as production outpaced demand in recent weeks.

Hogs & Pork
Pork processors lost $3.37 cents per head last week, compared to $4.46 profited last year. Weekly hog slaughter numbers rose 1,2%, while pork production increased 1.7% compared to 2011. U.S. pork sitting in cold storage at the end of March rose 6.7% from a year ago.

Chicken
The chicken processing margin averaged a one-cent loss per pound last week, 8 cents better than a year ago. Heads slaughtered declined 4.5% year over year, while pounds produced fell 2.9%. Chicken in cold storage declined 17.1% from a year ago as demand is better matched to supply. For the week, breast meat prices were down one cent  to $1.26 per pound and were 6 cents below the year-ago period.

Table Eggs
The egg margin averaged 22 cents per dozen, 22 cents below a year ago. Southeast egg prices were 92 cents per dozen, 23 cents below a year ago.
        
Grains
Cash corn prices finished the week down 15 cents to $6.14 per bushel and 14.5% lower than a year ago. Soybean prices rose 10 cents to $14.29 per bushel, up 5.2%% from a year ago.
          
Dairy
The March Milk Production report revealed milk production at 17.7 billion lbs., 4.2% greater than last year.The U.S. dairy herd in March rose to 9.3 million, representing the largest since May 2009. Increased production is anticipated to continue to weigh on dairy prices       

Ethanol & Energy
The ethanol crush margin averaged 38 cents per gallon, up 2 cents from last week and 2 cents below last year. Ethanol averaged $2.15 per gallon, trading at a 99 cent discount to gasoline.