Fed cattle steady
Fed steers were steady while heifers were $1.50 per hundredweight
higher, said Canfax.
Fed steer sales ended the week fairly steady. Volumes were down about
18 percent from the previous week at a little more than 18,000 head.
Most sales were made to western packers.
Alberta prices Aug. 9 were steers $87.75-$91.50, flat rail
$147.55-$150.35 and heifers $87.75-$91.50, flat rail $148.90-$149.45.
Beef movement over the August long weekend was fairly good in the West
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despite the cool weather.
Most slaughter plants are working part or full shifts on Saturday.
They say business is running at an average to good pace for this time
of year.
Calgary wholesale beef prices are steady to $1 higher at $147-$152 per
cwt., with highs of $153.
The Montreal wholesale price is steady at $154-$155.
Canfax said fed prices in the United States were $1 lower at $62 US per
cwt. during the week.
The American market anticipates supplies will tighten in the next
month, but there are no signs of smaller supplies yet. Canadian packers
still have good supplies and fed prices are expected to hold steady
this week, Canfax said.
Feeders up slightly
All classes of feeder steers were steady to $2.50 Cdn per cwt. higher
with the most strength noted on yearlings over 700 lb.
Heifers were mixed with light calves trading $2.50 lower and most
classes of heifers heavier than 500 lb. selling steady to $1.75 higher.
Buyers from outside Alberta continued to show strong interest.
Volumes were down about 24 percent from the previous week at 24,000
head but up 11 percent over the same time last year.
Slaughter cows were 25 cents per cwt. higher at $54.
If interest from the U.S. and the rest of Canada continues, prices
should continue to trade near these levels, said Canfax.
However, barley and corn prices have increased, so the pressure is on
feedlots to buy replacement feeders at lower prices than the current
market. If outside interest subsides, pressure will return to the
feeder market.
The number of cattle on feed in Alberta and Saskatchewan Aug. 1 was
down 26 percent from last year at the same time.
July saw a 37 percent increase in placements over last year. The
largest increase was in feeders weighing less than 600 lb.
Sales in July were up four percent.
Bred cow sales slow
In stock cow trade, no bred cattle sales were reported.
Many cow-calf pairs are selling.
Some pairs are still being split, but young cows and quality pairs are
generally staying together in the ring.
Pairs traded at $750-$1,530, with most at $975-$1,400.
Alberta cow slaughter to date totals 145,641 head, an 18 percent
increase over the same seven-month period last year.
In July alone, the Alberta cow slaughter totaled 22,276 cows, an
increase of 8,770 head over July 2001.
Saskatchewan, British Columbia and Manitoba combined cow slaughter in
July was 11,130, a 5,077 head increase from the same month in 2001.
Hog slaughter up
U.S. hog slaughter was almost five percent higher than a year ago.
Higher prices for ribs and bellies at mid-week stopped the drop in
wholesale pork prices and, as a result, the pork cutout value declined
at first, but started to increase on Aug. 7.
However, packers responded to ample hog supplies and the recent decline
in operating margins by paying much less for hogs.
Hog prices often decrease seasonally from July to August.
The Iowa-Minnesota daily direct hog price (plant mean, 51-52 percent
lean, live equivalent) fell from $39.21 US per cwt. Aug. 5 to $36.58 on
Aug. 8.
On average, the week’s hog price was about nine percent lower than the
previous week’s price.
