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 prices up again
The North American fed market continues to set new record-high prices.
Read Also
Calf hormone implants can give environmental, financial wins
Hormone implants can lead to bigger calves — reducing greenhouse gas intensity, land use intensity and giving the beef farmer more profit, Manitoba-based model suggests.
Alberta fed steers finished the week ending May 30 at $299.90 per hundredweight, up $0.35 per cwt. from the previous week .
Similarly, Alberta fed heifers were up by $0.59 per cwt., closing the week at $296.58 per cwt.
The market has followed a similar trend over the past few years, with prices strengthening throughout the spring.
Dressed sales were reported at mainly $502 per cwt. delivered, with cattle scheduled for delivery anywhere from immediately to the second half of July. All western Canadian packers showed buying interest.
Western Canadian fed slaughter for the week ending May 24 totalled just more than 36,000 head, four per cent below last year’s volumes. Fed cattle shipments to the United States have significantly slowed down, meaning fed supplies could back up a bit.
In Ontario, dressed sales at the start of the week were reported at $500 per cwt. delivered. By the end of the week, sales were reported at $505 per cwt. delivered. Cattle that traded were scheduled for delivery in one to two weeks.
Light volumes of eastern Canadian fed cattle were purchased by U.S. packers. Sales worked back to about $303 per cwt., depending on freight and dressing percentage.
Non-fed market strong
Alberta cull cow prices rose by $2-5 per cwt. during the week ending May 30.
D2 cows closed the week at $231 per cwt., just below their all-time high set three weeks earlier. D3 cow prices reached a new all-time high at $210 per cwt.
Feeder cows brought an average of $242.50 per cwt., about $7 per cwt. higher than two weeks before, when prices were last reported.
Butcher bull prices rose by $9 per cwt. from the previous week to $246.25 per cwt. Railgrade cow prices were in the range of $425-$440 per cwt., fully steady with the previous week.
Non-fed prices in May were 22-25 per cent stronger than in 2024.
For the week ending May 24, western Canadian cow slaughter volumes were seasonally light at just below 3,500 head.
Year-to-date western Canadian cow slaughter is down 11 per cent from both 2024 and the five-year average.
Cull cow prices in Ontario were in the area of $3 per cwt. higher than the previous week . For May, the average cull cow prices are estimated to be 26-28 per cent higher than in May 2024.
Eastern Canadian cow slaughter for the week ending May 24 was four per cent lower than in 2024 and six per cent below the five-year average.
Feeder market rebounds
The feeder market rallied across most weight classes during the week ending May 30, the result of larger volumes and higher-quality cattle. Several categories brought prices that approached or set new record highs.
Feeder steers weighing between 500-800 pounds traded $9.95-19.47 per cwt. higher than the previous week. This places 550 lb. steers $9 per cwt. away from an all-time high.
For heifers, the strongest rally was in those weighing 500-600 lb., up $24.89 per cwt. from the previous week. This is only $4.82 per cwt. away from annual highs.
Heifers weighing 700-800 lb. were $6.79 per cwt. stronger than last week, setting a new record high at $424.38 per cwt.
The cow-calf pair market averaged $5,742 per pair, $1,246 per pair higher than this time last year.
Alberta auction volumes for the week totalled 22,156 head. This is 41 per cent higher than in 2024 and the largest weekly volume for the same week since 2009.
Canadian feeder cattle exports to the U.S. for the week ending May 17 were 1,000 head, 77 per cent lower than last year’s volumes. This is the sixth consecutive week that weekly U.S. exports have been below 2024 volumes.
Year-to-date export volumes are 75,584 head, 15 per cent higher than this time last year.
Cutouts rally
U.S. cut-out prices strengthened by $5 per cwt. during the week ending May 30.
Choice ended the week at $366.09 per cwt., while Select finished at $353.64 per cwt.
The Choice-to-Select spread was about $12 per cwt. While this is historically narrow for this time of year, it is mostly steady with the spread at this time last year.
