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 market firm
Alberta direct cattle sales saw moderate volume trade last week, with prices steady to firmer than the previous week. The bulk of sales were reported at $390 per hundredweight dressed, delivered in a full $385-$390 per cwt. trading range. Thin live trade was also reported comparable at $232.50 per cwt. Weighted average steer prices firmed modestly to $231.45 per cwt.
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Western Canadian fed slaughter for the week ending May 6 eased two percent lower than the previous week to 38,239 head. Year-to-date western fed slaughter was down four percent compared with the same week last year to 733,399 head. Year-to-date fed cattle-cow exports continued fully steady with the same week last year, totalling 177,574 head.
Feedlot managers are in no hurry to pull soft fed calves forward and will continue to take advantage of deferred delivery and add profitable head days. Market-ready supplies should remain manageable, and moderate carcass weights will lend price support through May and into June.
In the United States, scattered live trade in the south was reported US$2 per cwt. lower than two weeks ago at $170 per cwt. Northern trade was steady to $1 per cwt. lower than two weeks ago with live sales from $176-$177 per cwt., and dressed sales were mostly at $280 per cwt. delivered.
Weighted average Nebraska steers closed the week $1.50 per cwt. lower than the previous week around $175.50 per cwt. f.o.b. the feedlot.
Cow prices steady
Alberta cow prices are showing signs of stabilizing after a strong run up in prices over the past few months. Over the past two weeks, D2 cow prices have averaged on either side of $150 per cwt., just shy of record highs set in 2015. D3s averaged $131.83 per cwt.
Alberta cow prices are trading at a $19 per cwt. premium against the U.S. utility cow market. This is the largest premium Alberta cow prices have been to the U.S. market since May 2021. Cow prices outperformed the butcher bull market as well.
The price spread between D2 cows and butcher bulls has been around $6 per cwt. during the past two weeks. This narrow spread is rare and has only happened a couple times in the past decade. Last week butcher bulls averaged $156.28 per cwt.
Taking all these factors into consideration, the cow market is clearly a sellers’ market. For the week ending May 6, western Canadian cow slaughter totalled slightly more than 5,000 head, the smallest non-holiday slaughter volume seen this year.
Dryness affects feeders
Moisture continues to be sporadic and in some of the drier areas of Alberta yearlings that would normally be turned out onto grass are instead being sold on the cash market. Some cow-calf producers are also cutting deeper into their replacement heifers and sending a few more to market to help manage stocking rates.
Trading was steady to $2 higher last week, and feeders heavier than 800 lb. established new annual highs. May price highs for heavier weight feeders has only occurred twice in the past 20 years.
From a seasonal perspective, more price upside still exists because it is more common to see first half of the year highs in June. Over the past three years, the average increase for an 850 lb. steer from May to June is four percent, whereas the average increase for heifers is two percent.
Alberta and Saskatchewan 900 lb. and heavier steers for September delivery traded from $265-$273 per cwt. with a weighted average price of $270.10 per cwt. based at 988 lb. Heifers that sold for September delivery traded roughly $10 per cwt. back of their steer mates. In general, heifers are trading strong relative to steers.
Alberta calf prices have recently moved to a discount against the U.S. market. In addition, with lower corn prices the cost-of-gain advantage that the U.S. has over western Canadian feedlots continues to grow. Canadian feeder cattle exports totalled slightly less than 5,200 head, the largest export volume this year. For the end of April this is the largest feeder export volume since 2019.
U.S. cutouts decline
U.S. cutouts hit their spring peak two weeks ago and have begun to decline. Choice cutouts closed at US$305.72 per cwt., while Select cutouts aligned with historical averages at $284.58 per cwt.
