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 price peaks
Fed cattle prices may have peaked. Fed cattle prices have moved lower for two consecutive weeks but still remain historically strong.
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Active trade was reported last week with all three western Canadian packers procuring cattle. Dressed sales ranged from $428-$435 per cwt. delivered, and a softer price tone was noted.
As lift times have stretched, carcass weights have probably bottomed. Over the past five years, the average increase from spring lows to fall highs is 120 pounds. Using an historical increase, that would put carcass weights on track for a fall peak close to 990 lb.
Western Canadian packers continue to run lighter hours. For the past two months, fed slaughter volumes have been below 40,000 head per week.
In Ontario, Cargill workers remained on strike. Numbers vary, but there have been reports that more than 50 loads of fed cattle per week are coming into Alberta for slaughter. Producers say June contract cattle are being shipped to Alberta.
Market-ready numbers are backing up as carcass weights remain record large. With extreme heat in the East last week, it was not great for cattle performance or shipping cattle.
In the United States, dressed sales in the northern feeding states ranged from US$308-$312 per cwt., while live sales were reported from $197-$198. Dressed sales were $3-$6 per cwt. stronger, while live deals were $2-$3 per cwt. higher. Sales in Texas and Kansas were reported at $189 per cwt., $4 per cwt. stronger. Fed cattle prices set new highs.
For the week ending June 8, U.S. beef cow slaughter was slightly more than 55,000 head, 18 per cent below last year and the smallest beef cow slaughter for the beginning of June since 2016.
While volumes have increased, they remain well below last year.
Cow price lowers
Cull cows across the Prairies eased $2-$6 per cwt. lower last week. Alberta D2 and D3 cows closed the week $2 per cwt. softer, D2s at $192.64 per cwt. and D3s at $175.50. Western Canadian cull cow prices typically peak in the first half of June and have a softer tone through November.
Ontario D2 cows eased $5 per cwt. lower to $160.49 per cwt. with D3 cows down $1 per cwt. to $139.04 per cwt. Cull cows in Ontario also tend to peak in June and are poised to do so again this year.
Western Canadian cow slaughter for the week ending June 15 totalled 5,876 head and has been below both last year and the five-year average for the past seven weeks. Year to date, western Canadian cow slaughter, at 160,700 head, is seven per cent lower than last year and five per cent below the five-year average.
In the East, cow slaughter year to date totalled 47,200 head and is 16 per cent below last year and nine per cent below the five-year average. Since the last week of May, when Cargill employees went on strike, weekly eastern Canadian cow slaughter is down 50 to 59 per cent.
Feeder trade steady
Alberta feeder cattle traded mostly steady to stronger compared to the previous week. The exception was steer and heifer calves weighing 400-500 lb., which traded $5.83 per cwt. and $4.08 per cwt. lower, respectively. This suggests a potential pullback in demand for grass type calves.
This was also reflected in cow-calf pair prices, which traded $220 per pair lower compared to the previous week and softened in the two weeks before that.
Last week, yearlings mostly traded steady to $7 per cwt. higher than the previous week, and heifers weighing 400-900 lb. and heavier all traded stronger, narrowing the steer-to-heifer price spread.
Since the first week of June, feeder cattle futures for August climbed $4.90 per cwt., showing solid interest for yearlings in the third quarter.
For the week ending June 8, feeder cattle exports to the U.S. were 4,181 head, the fifth largest weekly export number this year, up 45 per cent from last year. Year-to-date feeder exports, at 77,443 head, are up nine per cent from last year. Tighter supplies stateside are expected to support feeder exports in the second half of the year.
Cutouts see small rally
In U.S. beef trade, cutouts bucked expectations. Choice closed the week up 1.5 per cent to US$322.87 per cwt. while Select popped 1.7 per cent higher to $304.40. Last minute July 4 orders may account for the gains.
