Western Producer Livestock Report

Packers increase demand

Fed steers and heifers were up $4.50 per hundredweight.

Prices were steady at the start of the week but climbed midweek when packer buying interest warmed, with prices about $4 higher. This action drew some cattle out and sales were brisk, Canfax said.

For the week, 24,000 head traded, up 34 percent, helping to clean up some of the carry-over.

Alberta prices Sept. 2 were steers $73-$77.75 per cwt. and heifers $76.25-$77.95.

The Labour Day holiday will reduce slaughter this week but packers are still going through good volumes.

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Canfax said some bargaining power has shifted to sellers and with the fed cattle supply not that big, prices could strengthen.

Beef cut-out values last week in Canada were $2-$3 higher.

Sales into the Labour Day weekend were considered fair.

The Calgary wholesale market is mostly steady with handyweight steers at $130-$133.

Exports continued strong.

U.S. cutouts were down $4-$6 US as sluggish demand weighed on prices. The largest drop occurred in the Choice cutout, which is now 10 percent lower than this time last year.

Feeder prices climb

Volumes rose through Alberta auction markets, with a little less than 28,000 head trading, up 41 percent from the week before and 74 percent from a year ago.

Prices rose, pulled higher by the strong fed cattle market.

Steers 300-400 lb. were up 50 cents per cwt., 400-500 lb. were $1.75 stronger, and 500-800 traded $2.50 higher. Steers 800-900 lb. and heavier rose $1.75.

Heifers 300-400 lb. on light volumes fell 50 cents, while 400-500 lb. rose 50 cents. Heifers 500-800 lb. rose $1.50-$2 and 800-900 lb. and heavier rose $2.75-3.50.

D1, 2 cows were steady, while butcher bulls lost $1.25 per cwt., Canfax said.

While volumes are steadily increasing, large yearling and calf numbers are not anticipated to begin until after the federal government makes a decision about an assistance program.

Stock bred cows were $275-$500, while bred heifers in southern Alberta were $275-$350 on light trade.

Cow-calf pairs in central and southern Alberta were $350-$850.

Hog prices slip

The U.S pork wholesale cut-out price decreased again last week, falling to $71.68 US per cwt. on Sept. 2.

Canadian hog prices slipped, but U.S. hog cash prices increased as packers secured supplies for weekend kills, said Manitoba Agriculture. The weekly average Iowa-Minnesota daily direct hog price (Monday to Thursday, 51-52 percent lean carcass converted to live weight) increased three percent to $55.68 per cwt.

Lean hog futures prices followed the trend of wholesale and cash hog prices, ending lower.

Market analysts in the U.S. are watching the average weights for market hogs. The average for barrows and gilts in Iowa-southern Minnesota over the past two weeks has risen 1.9 pounds, raising concerns that hog supplies are backing up.

However, others said cooler-than-normal temperatures in August allowed the hogs to perform extremely well for that time of the year, pushing weights up even though the hogs were moved out of the barns on time or possibly a few days ahead of schedule.