Cattle dip
Fed cattle prices remained in the low $70s per hundredweight again last week.
Average prices were about 50 cents per cwt. lower than the previous week, said Canfax.
Early in the week it appeared that prices might drop into the $60s but in the end, prices mostly hovered at slightly more than $70.
Packer inquiry was light and sporadic with some plants not bidding at all or on limited numbers at a time.
Plants’ live inventory ranged from one to three weeks.
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Volumes were up 16 percent from last week to just more than 21,000 head because sellers felt they needed to continue to move cattle.
Alberta prices June 3 were steers $71.25 per cwt., flat rail $114-$120.10 and heifers $70-$71.65, flat rail $114-$117.
Kills have returned to full bore, which will help compared to the recent slow holiday week pace, said Canfax.
Cattle numbers going to market over the next few weeks will be critical to price direction.
Cut-out values in Canada were firm last week mostly due to the stronger U.S. cutout.
Cutouts were $1-$1.50 higher than the previous week. Most of the strength continued to come from the middle meats.
U.S. cutouts were $2.75-$4 US higher, which led a strong cash cattle price rally south of the border.
Demand remains good with excellent interest heading into the Father’s Day weekend.
Carcass wholesale prices were lower in Canada in response to the lower cash cattle prices.
The Montreal price is $3-$4 lower in a range of $140-$145 Cdn.
The Calgary market is $4-$5 lower with handyweight steers at $134-$136. Byproduct values were unchanged.
Feeder numbers down
Alberta feeder auction market volume was slightly more than 12,000 head trading, down 22 percent.
Last year at the same time there was almost no trade.
Prices fell as quality became an issue and industry optimism waned.
Steers were $3.25-$4.75 per cwt. lower, with the exception of 800-900 lb. steers that were down $1.50.
Heifers 300-400 lb. were down $4.50, 400-500 lb were $1.50 lower and 500-700 lb. were $3.75-$4 lower. Heifers 700-900 lb. and heavier were down $5.25-$6.
D1, 2 cows fell $2.25.
D1, 2 cow price volatility will depend on the number of speculators in the market because there is still only one federal slaughtering facility in Western Canada taking cows.
Feeder cattle volume usually falls through summer and quality becomes a pricing issue, said Canfax.
Heavier feeder cattle will be more affected as feedlots try to estimate where fed cattle prices will be this summer with the border closed.
Stock bred cows on limited trade in central and northern Alberta were $350-$750.
Bred heifers in northern Alberta were $350-$650, but lightly tested.
Cow-calf pairs on medium quality were $350-$700 and good quality brought $700-$1,250.
Hog markets up and down
Canadian and American hog prices diverged last week with the Canadian market down and American prices up.
After the U.S. Memorial Day holiday many packing plants were short on supply and increased their bids for hogs. The Iowa-Minnesota daily direct hog price (plant mean, 51-52 percent, lean carcass converted to live weight) increased about 2.7 percent to $57.35 US per cwt. on June 3 from $55.83 on June 1.
The wholesale pork cut-out value increased more than $2.49 per cwt. from June 1-3. The U.S. Livestock Marketing Information Center said the pork cutout for May reached a record high at $81.89 per cwt., 33 percent or $20 per cwt. higher than a year ago.
Manitoba hog prices decreased by about 4.5 percent from the previous week, said Manitoba Agriculture.
Goats and sheep
Ontario Stockyards reported 275 sheep and lambs and 255 goats traded. Light lamb prices fell $5 Cdn cwt., while the heavy lambs traded $10 cwt. lower. Sheep and goats held firm.
