For the week ending April 4, the feeder cattle market was hard to define. Many auction barns did not have sales. Locations that held sales received smaller volumes and the quality was quite variable. For the most part, prices for Western Canadian feeder cattle markets traded $5 per hundredweight lower to $5 per cwt. higher compared to seven days earlier.
The mindset of the crowd regarding potential U. S. tariffs determined the price structure in the first half of the week. Lower flesh replacements over 800 pounds were well bid. Quality genetic packages of grassers were also red hot as calf numbers were harder to come by last week. Some finishing feedlots were securing ownership of calves under 600 lb. in anticipation of tighter yearling numbers come August. Our values below are mostly from the week ending March 29 as we believe this is a fair price discovery.
In central Saskatchewan, a pen-sized group of medium to larger-frame Charolais-based steers weighing just over 1,000 lb. were valued at $360 FOB farm. South of Edmonton, a smaller package of Charolais-cross steers weighing 940 lb. on silage and light grain diet with full processing records apparently sold for $369. In the Saskatoon region, black mixed heifers with a mean weight of 900 lb. on silage and light grain (including pellets) ration with fleshier conditions on about the half the group supposedly traded for $340 FOB farm.
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
Northwest of Winnipeg, medium to larger-frame Angus-based steers carrying light butter averaging just over 700 lb. traded for $451. At the same sale, larger-frame, thinner, red mixed heifers evaluated at 730 lb. reportedly moved through the ring at $384.
Southeast of Saskatoon, larger frame Charolais steers weighing 620 lb. were valued at $510. In central Alberta, red mixed, thinner weaned steers with a mean weight of 615 lb. on silage and supplement diet with full preconditioning apparently sold for $495. North of Calgary, red mixed weaned heifers on light barley and silage diet with full processing data averaging 640 lb. apparently sold for $436.
At the Killarney sale, Angus-based steers weighing 505 lb. silenced the crowd at $575. At the same sale, similar quality heifers scaled at 517 lb. moved at $480. At the Westlock sale, a handful of Limousin-Red Angus cross steers on hay and barley diet with vaccination records averaging 507 lb. traded for $552. There appeared to be Ontario demand from Yorkton east resulting in minor premium on certain packages.
Alberta packers were buying fed cattle on a dressed basis in the range of $455-460 per cwt. delivered, unchanged from the previous week. On a live basis, this equates to 273-276 per cwt. delivered. Break-even fed cattle prices for April on a live basis are in the range of $255-260 per cwt. Feedlot margins have been healthy, which is sustaining the current price structure for replacements. For August delivery, steers off grass weighing 1,000 lb. were trading in the range of $350-360 per cwt.
The Canadian dollar surged on Thursday after the U.S. tariff announcement. Global investors are shying away from U.S. dollar assets. The U.S. economy is expected to move into a recession over the next four to six months due to the tariffs. There appears to be a risk rebalancing in the financial markets.
Prior to April 2, U.S. and Canadian cattle producers were bracing for U.S. tariffs to be placed on beef and cattle. However, goods imported under the existing continental trade deal, known as CUSMA, will not face tariffs, while those outside the deal will see a 10 per cent tariff. Excluding Canada and Mexico, the top countries including Australia, Brazil, Uruguay, Argentina, Nicaragua and New Zealand shipped 1.345 million tonnes of beef to the U.S. in 2024. This tariff policy was viewed a bullish for North American beef and cattle markets in the short term. The wholesale beef market is factoring in a risk premium and reached historical highs during the first week of April. Cow-calf and backgrounding operators should use this strength in the feeder and fed cattle markets to take protection on nearby and deferred feeder marketings. The cattle market tends to lag the Dow Jones Industrial Average by four to six months. Weaker equity markets have potential to result in lower feeder cattle prices later in summer.
