Steers weaken
The fed steer average last week fell $1 per hundredweight while fed heifers were steady, Canfax said.
Most of the week’s business occurred May 18. Volume rose by five percent to about 21,000 head. Some cattle were passed at the lower end of the price range.
Packers appeared to extend their inventory to about two weeks.
An electrical fire at the Tyson plant in Brooks, Alta., on May 17 caused the loss of one day’s kill.
Alberta prices May 19 were steers $77.75-$79.15 per cwt., flat rail $130.80-$131.70 and heifers $79.60 live. Canfax expects prices to be similar this week.
Read Also
USDA’s August corn yield estimates are bearish
The yield estimates for wheat and soybeans were neutral to bullish, but these were largely a sideshow when compared with corn.
As Canadian prices slip below $80, look for more interest and activity on the fed cattle set-aside program. Last week only 41 bidders participated at an average daily feed cost of $1.19.
Beef movement good
Canadian cutouts two weeks ago saw the AAA-AA spread widen with AAA gaining 55 cents per cwt. and AA losing $2.25 per cwt. compared to the previous week.
Cutouts are slightly less than the levels of one year ago.
Considering the large kills and volume of product available, movement is still considered fairly good on the retail and food service front, Canfax said.
Calgary wholesale handyweight steers for this week’s delivery are $135-$139 per cwt.
Byproduct values edged up mostly because of the strength in hides caused by the weakness in the Canadian dollar.
Light feeders weaken
Alberta feeder auction market volumes rose 13 percent, with about 37,000 head trading, steady with last year.
Feeder cattle price averages were lower on light cattle in thin trade. Steers 300-500 pounds were $1-$3.50 per cwt. lower, while heifers of the same weight were $3.25-$5.75 lower.
On larger volumes, heavier cattle traded steady to stronger. Steers 600-900 lb. and heavier traded $1.25-$2.50 higher and heifers 600-900 lb. and heavier were steady to $2.50 higher.
D1, 2 cows were stable for the second week in a row, while butcher bulls were down 75 cents.
Moisture across the Prairies will affect buyer interest in the coming weeks, which could lead to large variations in price averages, Canfax said. Volumes are expected to seasonally tail off going into June and July.
D1, 2 cows are expected to trade steady.
Stock bred cows and heifers in northern Alberta were $300-$700. Cow-calf pairs on medium quality cows were $300-$750 and excellent quality fetched $750-$1,360.
Cattle on feed
The U.S. Department of Agriculture reported that as of May 1 feedlot cattle supplies were at 103 percent of a year ago, or 10.639 million head. Analysts on average expected 102.4 percent, Reuters said. USDA put April marketings at 95 percent, or 1.801 million head, compared with the trade average of 96.8 percent.
April placements were 104 percent, or 1.660 million head, compared with the average trade estimate of 103.9 million.
Pork stocks high
U.S. cash hog markets started last week stronger but fell back by the end of the week.
The week before, packers had scaled back slaughter to reduce pork supply and press pork prices higher.
Riding that improvement, they boosted cash hog prices early last week to finish off commitments for the May long weekends in the United States and Canada.
By the end of the week, those commitments were finished and packers were scaling back, hoping to avoid lower demand after the long weekend, Reuters reported.
Chicago Mercantile Exchange lean hog futures fell on disappointing domestic pork demand and large stocks.
USDA on May 20 said frozen pork belly stocks increased to a six-year high in April and total pork stocks were the highest in three years.
Hog numbers are rising and hog weights have remained high, which added to total pork output.
USDA said U.S. pork production in 2006 will rise to 21 billion lb., up 1.2 percent from expected 2005 production.
It attributed the increase to productivity increases in the breeding herd, higher imports of Canadian animals and higher average dressed weights. Exports are seen continuing to rise but U.S. per capita consumption of pork is seen declining in 2006.
Lamb prices drop
Ontario Stockyards reported 1,828 sheep and lambs and 64 goats traded. All classes of lambs sold $10 per cwt. lower. Sheep and goats sold at steady prices.
