Be opportunistic as a margin operator

While there are always a number of factors that can impact cattle markets, things appear to be setting up well for stocker operations in 2023. First, high feed costs are likely to result in very high value of gain on calves this year. The chart below shows estimated feed cost per lb of gain from Kansas State’s Focus on Feedyards newsletter. Note the estimated cost of gain for January was over $1.45 per lb. And secondly, there is an incredible amount of carry in feeder cattle futures markets. As I write this, the November contract is trading at a $30 premium over March (see the chart at…