HAS this year’s big plunge in feeder cattle prices created a goldmine for lotfeeders?
The NLRS feeder steer indicator (saleyards-based) has dropped like a stone since the end of July, declining to 211c this week, down 110c or 35pc on where it sat at the end of July, and 224c or 52pc lower than the start of the year.
It would be easy to assume that lotfeeders have done extremely well, as a result.
But profitability on grainfeeding cattle hinges on three key inputs: feeder steer price, cost of feed, and finished grainfed steer price sold to the meatworks.
Often, the three main variables…
