Beef dips with demand
Recent rains have not only slowed harvest but have also dampened consumers’ desire for beef on the barbecue. With a lower demand for beef in August and an excess supply on hand, prices have dipped lower in Western Canada.
The lower prices should settle in for the next couple weeks, Canfax predicts.
Also in the beef trade, there seems to be an unusual supply of heavy carcasses coming through plants. Carcasses were 14 pounds heavier than last week, a substantial week over week increase, reports Canfax.
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In Western Canadian fed cattle market prices were mainly steady. About 15 percent more cattle were sold this week compared to this time last year.
Grass cattle are starting to come in from pasture and sales were about double last week’s figures.
Farmers selling lighter calves were smiling. Heifers gained two to seven cents and the action was mostly at local auction markets.
Some feedlots have opted to buy slaughter cattle and put another month or so into them. Feedlots see this as a better opportunity than selling in the ring, said Canfax.
In the United States, there are more cattle on feed than at this time last year. In seven states the number of cattle on feed as of Aug. 1 is 119 percent of last year.
Hog slaughter
In hog markets, there were 34,199 head slaughtered in Manitoba with an average slaughter price of $216.63 per hundred kilograms.
