Market Activity & Analysis

The Jacobsen Hide Index on Friday closed at $15.26 compared to $15.34 Friday the week prior. Big packer steer quotes included HNS from $25, BBS from $18 to $23, BS at $13, and CBS at $17 and HTS at $18 FOB plant. 

The Week’s Slaughter Forecast

The Jacobsen slaughter forecast for this week is 500,000 head, and if realized, will be 172,500 head less the same week last year when it was 672,500. Packer beef margins for the week were a record positive $579.16 per head versus a positive $343.61 the week before according to HedgersEdge.com. 

Cattle slaughter finished last week 465,000 head, down 28 percent from a year ago and 7 percent relative to the year prior. Slaughter is forecast to rebound in May after the lower numbers in April. Over the next six weeks, slaughter…