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 steady
Alberta fed cattle had light trade last week with dressed sales reported at $390 per hundredweight delivered, steady to $10 per cwt. higher than the previous week.
Read Also
Russian pulse trouble reports denied
Russia’s pulse crop will be larger than last year, which won’t help prices rally from their doldrums.
Cash sales to the U.S. were in the upper $230s per cwt. f.o.b. the feedlot, mostly steady with the previous week and at a premium over local deals.
For the week ending March 9, Canadian fed cattle and cow exports to the U.S. totalled 13,465 head, up 34 per cent from last year. Weekly export numbers for the past seven consecutive weeks have been higher than last year; only the heavy snowfall weeks in early January were below last year. Year-to-date export volumes at 109,776 head are up 11 per cent from last year.
The cash basis at -$24.54 per cwt. is the weakest since Feb. 23 and continues to encourage exports south.
For the week ending March 16, Canadian fed slaughter totalled 50,975 head, steady with the previous week and down 1.3 per cent from last year. Year-to-date fed slaughter at 554,774 head is down 2.3 per cent.
In Ontario, dressed sales were reported at $400 per cwt. delivered. The cash-to-futures basis remains near record low at -$15.64 per cwt.
In the United States, southern live cattle traded around US$188 per cwt., up $2 per cwt., and the bulk of trade for northern dressed cattle was $302 per cwt., up $4. One regional Iowa packer paid as much as $304 per cwt. for heifers with a delivery date of mid-April.
U.S. fed steer carcass weights at 922 pounds have moved counter seasonally higher over the last five weeks to be 22 lb. heavier than the five-year average.
For the week ending March 9, U.S. total cow slaughter was 113,486 head, down 10.5 per cent from the week ending Feb. 3, a larger drop than the five-year average that shows a one per cent decline over that same time period.
New high for cows
Following a similar trend to last year, Alberta cow prices have risen each week since the start of the year. Averaging in the mid-$160s per cwt., butcher cows established new record highs. D3s averaged $166.25 and D3s averaged $145.92 per cwt.
Cows put on feed late in December or early in the new year are likely profitable if they were marketed in March.
For the first half of March, western Canadian cow slaughter volumes have been stable, averaging around 7,300 head per week, similar to last year.
In January, Canadian cow exports to the U.S. totalled slightly more than 13,000 head, the smallest January export volume since 2019. For January, butcher bull exports were the smallest on record. Last week’s average price was $171.25 per cwt.
On Jan. 1, Alberta and Saskatchewan cow numbers were down 0.1 and 4.2 per cent, respectively, compared to last year. Alberta-Saskatchewan cow numbers are the smallest since the early 1990s.
Slight rise in cutouts
In U.S. beef trade, cutouts increased one per cent last week with Choice at US$313.73 per cwt. and Select at $303.73. The Choice/Select spread, near $10 per cwt., is fully steady with the five-year average.
High feeder prices
The best way to describe the calf and feeder market is a sellers’ market. Calf prices continue to hover near record highs, while heavier weight feeders have advanced $30 per cwt. since the start of the year.
Eastern Canadian feedlots continue to be active on the western Canadian calf/feeder market. They are usually active on heavier weight steers, but this year they are showing more interest on grass weight steers from 500-700 lb.
The 550 lb. steer-to-heifer calf price spread has narrowed significantly since the start of the year. Earlier this year it was around $65-$70 per cwt., but now it is closer to $40.
For the first half of March, Alberta feeder prices are at an $18 per cwt. premium against the U.S. market. This is part of the reason Canadian feeder exports have been historically low.
Based on the latest trade data in January, Canada was a net importer of U.S. feeders by 12,750 head. With increased bunk capacity in Western Canada, this country is expected to be a net importer of U.S. feeders again this year.
