This cattle market information is selected from the weekly report from Canfax, a division of the Canadian Cattle Association. More market information, analysis and statistics are available by becoming a Canfax subscriber by calling 403-275-5110 or at www.canfax.ca.
Fed market disappoints
It was a disappointing week for the western Canadian fed market. U.S. fed prices have rebounded roughly $5 per hundredweight over the past two weeks, while the western Canadian fed market established new second-half-of-the-year price lows.
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Sale volumes were light last week. Dressed sales were at $405 per cwt. delivered.
Fed cattle from Manitoba are coming into Alberta for slaughter. Western Canadian fed slaughter for the week ending Sept. 21 was slightly more than 42,000 head, eight per cent below last year. This was the second consecutive week that fed slaughter volumes were below last year.
In Ontario, dressed sales were reported at $406 per cwt. delivered, steady with the previous week. Canadian beef exports for July were seven per cent lower than last year. For July, it was the smallest export volume since 2017.
In July, beef shipments to the United States and Hong Kong/ Macau were below last year. Beef exports to Taiwan were historically low in June but jumped sharply in July. Canadian beef shipments to Taiwan were the largest since summer 2020. In July, beef exports to South Korea were also strong, up 183 per cent compared to last year.
In the U.S., dressed sales in Iowa and Nebraska were from US$290-$295 per cwt. (mostly $294 per cwt.) steady to $3 per cwt. higher than the previous week. Live sales in the northern feeding states were from $186-$187 per cwt., $2-$3 per cwt. higher. Sales in Texas and Kansas were from $184-$185 per cwt., $1-$2 per cwt. stronger.
U.S. steer carcass weights increased four pounds to average 945 pounds, a new record high. Heifer carcass weights were reported at 852 lb., three lb. shy of highs set in 2022.
Beef cow slaughter volumes remain below last year but have started to increase. From highs in July, U.S. utility cow prices have dropped $16 per cwt.
Cow price declines
The non-fed market continues to seasonally decline. Alberta D2 cows averaged $181 per cwt., down $3 per cwt. from the previous week, but were 38 per cent higher than the same week last year and 87 per cent higher than the five-year average for the same week.
Alberta D2 cows have been above $180 per cwt. for the last 22 weeks. Alberta D3 cows averaged just shy of $169 per cwt., down $2 per cwt. from the previous week, but were 42 per cent higher than the same week last year and 98 per cent higher than the five-year average. Alberta rail cows were steady with last week at $355-$365 per cwt.
In Ontario, D2 and D3 cows have been softening since the first half of August. On a live basis, Alberta D2 cows are priced at 76 per cent of Alberta fed steers in September, down slightly from 77 per cent in August. This is steady with September 2014 but slightly below September 2015 when Alberta D2 cow prices were 78 per cent of Alberta fed steer prices.
Ontario D2 cows are priced at 67 per cent of an Ontario fed steer in September, down from 71 per cent in August but up from 61 per cent last year.
Feeder price improves
Canfax steers and heifers averaged $5.40 and $1.79 per cwt. stronger, respectively, last week, following five consecutive weeks of weaker prices. Calf prices are beginning to pick up after weeks of pressure.
Last week, calves in the 300-400 lb. range traded $11.33-$14 per cwt. higher than the previous week. However, steers are still $21.40 per cwt. lower than last year, while heifers are $14.92 per cwt. stronger.
Calves in the 400-500 lb. range traded steady to $6.25 per cwt. higher but remain $3.23-$5.02 per cwt. softer than last year.
Looking at the 500-900 lb. weights, it appears that prices peaked about a month earlier than last year, and though the year isn’t over, it’s safe to assume annual highs are behind us.
For the week ending Sept. 14, feeder cattle exports to the U.S. were 4,017 head, down 21 per cent from last year. However, this was the largest export in 13 weeks.
Year to date, feeder exports are 108,595 head, down eight per cent from a year ago. Since the week ending June 15, year-to-date export numbers have been below last year.
Cutouts slide
In U.S. beef trade, cutouts slid again last week. Choice closed the week at US$296.37 per cwt., down one per cent from last week, with Select at $282.37 per cwt. was down two per cent.
