Premium cattle steady
SASKATOON (Staff) – Slaughter cattle prices started out the week 50 cents to $1 per hundredweight lower. However, premium cattle, relatively free of tag, were more firm later in the week.
Canfax said lower cash prices in the U.S. set the tone for lower prices here. Later in the week, a higher percentage of calves in the mix allowed prices to rise. Plants were bidding selectively depending on cleanliness and potential marbling and yield.
About 13,000 head were sold in Alberta last week, a week-over-week rise of more than 10 percent.
Slaughter cow prices were steady to $1 lower. Canfax said numbers and quality are beginning to wane and manufacturing beef markets aren’t buying aggressively.
Feeder cattle markets were mixed. Shortkeep steers were steady to $1 per cwt. lower, Canfax reported, but shortkeep heifers were steady to $1 higher. Lighter-weight grass cattle held steady.
