This cattle market information is selected from the weekly report from Canfax, a division of the Canadian Cattlemen’s 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 prices up
After yet another round of tariff uncertainty, the Alberta fed market set new record-high prices the week ending April 4.
Read Also
Alberta eases water access for riparian restoration
Alberta government removes requirement for temporary diversion licence to water plants up to 100 cubic metres per day for smaller riparian restoration projects
Alberta fed steers closed the week at $283.89 per hundredweight, up $1.86 per cwt. from the previous week. Alberta fed heifers rose by $1.76 per cwt. to finish the week at $282.08 per cwt.
In light of tighter volumes, Western Canadian packers are reported to have scaled back their operating hours.
Dressed sales were reported in the range of $463-470 per cwt. delivered, with the majority of the cattle that traded scheduled for delivery in one to two weeks.
Interest from U.S. packers was reported, and light volumes of fed cattle from Western Canada were marketed across the line.
Historically, heifer slaughter volumes peak in late March and early April. Year-to-date heifer slaughter is down by 11 per cent from 2024 in Western Canada, while heifer slaughter is up by six per cent in Eastern Canada.
Dressed sales in Ontario were reported at $470 per cwt. delivered, rising by $20 per cwt. from the previous week.
Non-fed market under pressure
Tariff uncertainty brought volatility to the Western Canadian non-fed market the week ending April 4.
Early in the week, limited volumes brought considerably lower prices due to concerns that Canada would be included in the next round of U.S. tariffs. Trade rebounded significantly at the end of the week when it was revealed that Canadian products under CUSMA would continue to be exempt.
Alberta D2 cow prices eased $11 per cwt. lower than the previous week, while D3 cows were $6 per cwt. lower. Feeder cows and butcher bulls were also down by $11 per cwt.
Prices for railgrade cows were all over the place, Canfax reported, rebounding to $370-390 per cwt. by the end of the week.
D2 and D3 cows in Ontario brought $5 per cwt. less than the week before.
Year-to-date non-fed slaughter volumes are nine per cent lower than this time last year. In the west, volumes are down by 10 per cent, while volumes in the east are down by three per cent.
Non-fed slaughter for the week ending March 29 was 8,081 head. This was the first time in 2025 that weekly non-fed slaughter was above last year’s levels.
Auction volumes drop
After setting an annual high the week before, Alberta auction volumes were the lowest for this week since 2012 at 14,600 head.
Weighted average prices for Alberta feeder steers closed the week $8.39 per cwt. lower than the previous week, while feeder heifers were $9.97 per cwt. lower.
The feeder market faced pressure as the April 2 U.S. tariff announcement approached; however, the market saw 550-pound and 850-lb. steers bringing $10.47 per cwt. and $12.20 per cwt. more than the lows of March.
With products under CUSMA continuing to be exempt from U.S. tariffs, Canfax anticipated the feeder market will see stronger volumes and less volatility in the coming weeks.
U.S. 550-lb. steers averaged C$520 per cwt. in March, a discount of $2 per cwt. from Alberta 550-lb. steers averaging $522 per cwt. U.S. 850-lb. steers averaged C$386 per cwt. in March, a premium of $6 per cwt. over their Alberta counterparts at $380 per cwt.
Canadian feeder cattle exports to the U.S. for the week ending March 22 were 9,074 head. This is an increase of 164 per cent from last year and the largest year-over-year increase seen thus far.
Weekly exports to the U.S. have primarily been well above last year’s volumes since late January.
Year-to-date feeder export volumes are 56 per cent higher than at this time last year.
Little change for cutouts
Choice and Select cutout prices saw very little change throughout the week ending April 4.
Choice closed the week at $338.37 per cwt., barely one per cent higher than last week. Select prices were down by a mere 0.5 per cent from the previous week, closing at $317.84 per cwt.
The Choice-to-Select spread was more than $20 per cwt., the widest spread seen since early January.
