WINNIPEG – The amount of cattle sold at several of Manitoba’s livestock auctions was mixed for the week ending Feb. 22. Some of the auctions witnessed good increases in the number of head, while other auctions saw significant drops.

Gladstone had a strong increase in the number of cattle that went through their auction. For their Feb. 19 sale, they handled almost 1,370 head compared to the 940 head the previous week.

“Ours was up way more than what we expected. That was just due to the fact a few weeks ago it was very cold and nobody wanted to move any cattle,” said Dave Nickel of the Gladstone Auction Mart.

“I’m expecting runs not to be as big this time of year as compared to last year. A lot of the cattle moved already due to the lack of feed,” Nickel continued.

Ashern Auction Mart was another facility with a sizeable jump of cattle, with nearly 2,100 cattle for their Feb. 20 sale. That compares to 1,245 for the Feb. 13 auction.

Heartland Livestock Services saw lower numbers for their Brandon and Virden auctions. The Brandon auction sold approximately 780 head on Feb. 19, well down from the 2,280 head that passed through on Feb. 12. While Virden handled about 2,950 cattle on Feb. 13, they only saw 1,040 for their Feb. 20 sale.

For prices, some of the heavyweights fell back. At the Ste. Rose Auction Mart on Feb. 21, feeder steers in the 700 to 800-pound range garnered C$175 to C$194 per hundredweight (cwt). The week before, those steers sold for C$180 to $200 cwt.

But at Brandon, feeder steers and heifers in the 800 to 900-pound category were unchanged between sales. The steers went for C$165 to C$182 cwt and the heifers sold for C$150 to C$167 cwt.

At Gladstone, feeder steers in the 500 to 600-pound range improved between weeks. On Feb. 19 the steers brought C$175 to C$241.50 cwt from C$170 to C$215 cwt on Feb. 12.

The demand for grassers, cattle to be placed in pasture, has been steady according to Nickel.