Hide trading was minimal to start the week. The Friday Jacobsen Hide Index closed at $47.33 compared to $46.69 the week prior. The week’s estimated cattle slaughter was 653,000. The previous week’s kill was 575,000 and the corresponding week last year it was 575,000. Year-to-date slaughter at 17.938 million is up 4.7 percent from 2020. Packer beef margins for the week were a positive $402.02 per head versus a positive $459.95 the week before according to HedgersEdge.com. 

The week’s estimated cattle slaughter is 580,000 head, down from the previous week’s harvest of 623,000 and last year’s 648,900. Year-to-date slaughter at 15.415 million is up 5.6 percent from 2020. Labor issues are expected to continue to contribute to the slower cattle slaughter in the near term.  

Figure 1.