Fed cattle flex
SASKATOON (Staff) – Fed cattle prices flexed their muscles last week, with steers gaining $1- $1.50 and heifers gaining $1.50-$2 per hundredweight.
Canfax said the increase in prices was due to strong demand from local buyers, despite volumes that exceeded 15,000 head (up about 20 percent from the offering the last week of July). American buyers also contributed to the rally by bidding competitively.
Canfax said feedlots were willing sellers at the higher money, but were sending some heavier weight steers to the kill floor.
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Buyers displayed their bias towards these bigger animals, Canfax said, by increasing the bids on heifers, whose weight ranges are more in line.
Trade on Aug. 3 had steers bringing between $79.80-$82.25 and heifers from $78.50 to $82.75.
Feedlots on the southern plains in the U.S. also put in the second consecutive week of big sales – but this time at higher prices.
Bids started out the week at $62 per cwt., but by midweek had escalated to $64 per cwt. Sales in the Texas Panhandle topped 122,00 head; 110,000 in Kansas and 90,500 head in Nebraska.
Slaughter cow prices perked up by $1-$2 per cwt., lead by the rally in fed prices. D1 and D2 cows were priced between $45- $56 per cwt., with sales to $58.25. Railgrade bids ranged between $93-$101.75.
Lamb prices
Prices as reported on July 31 from the Saskatchewan Sheep Development Board had slaughter lambs weighing over 80 pounds priced at 98 cents per lb., while feeder lambs weighing under 80 lbs. were at $1.02. Slaughter sheep were at 40 cents per lb.
