Fed cattle lower
Fed cattle traded lower last week, with steers ending 50 cents per
hundredweight lower and heifers $2 lower.
Canfax said sales started sluggish, but rose midweek. Volumes were down
19 percent from the week before.
Although the lower Canadian dollar made exports more attractive, most
of the trade was to western plants.
Alberta prices Aug. 1 were steers $89-$91.50 per cwt., flat rail
$146.30-$149.40 and light heifer trade at $147.65-$149.
Wholesale beef prices are steady to $1 per cwt. higher in Calgary at
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$147-$151 (tops to $153). The Montreal market is $1-$2 per cwt.
stronger at $154-$155.
Many retail stores had good beef promotions heading into the long
weekend, but cool weather in the west may have discouraged some sales,
Canfax said.
Fairly steady trade is expected for next week.
Western packers seem to have good supply and eastern Canadian and
American interest has been limited.
Supplies later in August should tighten, but there will likely still be
fairly large numbers during the next couple weeks.
Feeders mostly higher
Feeder sales attracted buyers from the south and east last week.
Steers were mostly 50 cents to $1.50 per cwt. higher, with the
strongest prices for yearlings.
Heifers were mixed with 300-500 pound calves $2-$3.25 stronger, calves
500-700 lb. barely steady and heavier heifers $1 higher.
Volumes were 24 percent smaller than the week before at 31,600 head,
but 45 percent larger than the same week last year.
Slaughter cow prices held onto the gains made late last week. D1,2 cows
averaged almost $5 higher than the week before.
Canfax said American and eastern buyers are helping offset negative
pressure from high feed costs.
Slaughter cows ended the week strong and will likely be mostly steady
this week.
In stock cow trade, the cow-calf pairs trade remained strong.
Cow-calf pairs traded from $750-$1,400, with the bulk at $1,000-$1,250.
There were no bred cow or heifer sales reported.
Hog slaughter increases
Daily hog slaughter was higher and the increase in pork production led
to lower pork product prices, said Manitoba Agriculture.
The U.S. pork cutout value declined through the week as prices fell for
bellies and hams, which had been relatively strong in recent weeks
By Aug. 1 belly prices had dropped by more than 18 percent. Belly
prices often start to decline in August, but such a large decrease in
one week is unusual.
The Iowa-Minnesota daily direct hog price (plant mean, 51-52 percent
lean, live equivalent) declined slightly to $41.31 US per cwt. on Aug.
1 from $41.77 earlier.
On average, the week’s hog price was about 1.3 percent lower than the
previous week’s price.
Manitoba prices did not decline in response to the weaker U.S. market,
partly due to the positive effect of a lower Canadian dollar.
Also, when U.S. hog prices are falling, average Manitoba hog prices
don’t fall by as much due to the inclusion in the average price of some
Manitoba producer-processor contracts that are based on U.S. hog prices
the previous week.
