Beef markets buoyant
Record high returns for fat steers are buoying beef markets across North America.
Continued strong consumer demand for beef saw Ontario packer buyers pay a record $115.50 per hundredweight for top grade steers. These prices were driven partly by a tight supply of fed cattle in the east. In Winnipeg, fats reached $104.75 cwt. while Alberta bids were over $103.
More than 20,000 finished cattle were sold last week, up one percent over 1999. Plants and retailers have been buying ahead to meet anticipated heavy demands for beef during the May long weekend when barbecue season starts.
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Quality grades show a steady improvement with 38 percent at AAA and 52 percent making AA.
Cows are following the improved meat sales trend. D1, 2 cows traded at $58 to $70 with a few sales reporting cows at $80 per cwt.
Hog prices plump
On the market hog side, the industry continues to form alliances and establish new trading patterns. With steady grain prices and good money paid for hogs, producers can expect excellent profits this summer.
Manitoba’s premium prices of $195 per 100 kilograms continue to pull hogs out of Saskatchewan and Alberta. About a quarter of the hogs killed in Manitoba came from those two provinces. Producers are taking advantage of Manitoba premiums where extra dollars paid for weight and quality have been $16-$20 per ckg above the average base price.
Last week, Alberta index 100 hogs traded at $166 to $174 while the Saskatchewan pool price was $175.
Hog slaughter statistics for last week showed a slight increase over last year. Canada killed 356,970 hogs while U.S. slaughter numbers at 1.4 million for the week were down from 1999 figures of 1.5 million head.
A new alliance between Fletcher’s Fine Foods Ltd. of Red Deer with the Saskatchewan-based Quadra Group should see another shift in the market. This deal secures a steady supply of 600,000 hogs annually. Fletcher’s has been concerned in the past because its plant was running below capacity as producers scanned better paying markets in Manitoba and the United States.
Fletcher’s hopes to reach full two-shift capacity of 16,000 hogs per day in the near future.
Lambs disappointing
Lamb markets for Easter were not as strong as producers hoped.
Lambs weighing less than 60 pounds sold at per head prices between $75 and $80. These lambs would be under 21Ú2 months of age and grain fed.
Butcher weight newcrop lambs at 95-115 pounds were in very short supply before the Easter weekend and sold for an average $128. Prices on 70-pound lambs held strong, bringing producers about $87.50 per head.
