FEEDER cattle prices and the cost-of-gain in grainfeeding those animals have lined-up again, for the first time in three years.
The trend is being driven by the big deterioration in the feeder cattle market this year, combined with persistently strong feedgrain prices.
The relative cost of feeders started to press higher than the cost-of-gain around May 2020, and has remained out of alignment ever since. In May, 2020, for example, cost of gain in a typical southern Queensland feedyard was $3.51/kg, and feeder steer were just starting to edge higher, at 375c/kg.
Flatback heavy feeders in…
