Heavyweights weigh down market
SASKATOON (Staff) — Slaughter cattle prices were off by $3 per hundredweight last week, worn down by bigger steers that received reluctant bids.
Average carcass weights are continuing to break records and weigh down prices, Canfax said. Last week, the average steer carcass weighed 776.9 lbs., compared to 746.4 lbs. as the running average for this year and an average of 718.9 lbs. last year.
With packers looking for lighter animals, prices for slaughter heifers were better overall last week than steers. Premiums paid for handyweights — of any sex — were as high as $5 per cwt. over the heavyweight cattle, Canfax reports.
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Steer trade on Aug. 18 saw prices between $77 and $84.15 while heifers traded in a much narrower range of $86-$86.50.
Canada’s inspected slaughter was more than 50,000 head, about 6,000 head better than the previous week. Wholesale prices in Calgary and Montreal were down marginally.
But news from south of the border won’t help lift prices. The U.S. department of agriculture’s monthly cattle-on-feed report showed that fewer cattle than expected were marketed in July. That news, coupled with ragged sales out of Southern Plains feedlots that didn’t cover weekly showlists, is expected to push prices down.
Feeder cattle
Meanwhile, feeder cattle prices in Western Canada felt none of the pressure from the lower slaughter cattle market. Canfax reports strong demand for fewer feeders last week.
