Cattle Finishers Face Record-Breaking Break-Even Prices

Cattle finishers in the US are facing increasingly tight margins due to high break-even prices and feeder cattle costs, according to projections from Purdue University's Center for Commercial Agriculture.

Break-even prices have risen dramatically over the past few years, reaching nearly $250 per hundredweight in the first quarter of 2026. Current projections indicate they will remain above $250 through the end of this year and into the first half of 2027.

The high break-even prices are attributed to relatively high fed cattle prices, but also to feeder cattle costs, which have increased due to changes in feed conversion rates, corn prices, and alfalfa prices. The feeder-to-fed cattle price ratio has been above its long-run average since late 2025 and is expected to remain so through the rest of 2026 and into 2027.