Cattle prices up
SASKATOON (Staff) – Fed cattle prices were steady early in the week on lighter numbers, but by week’s end, prices were up by $1.50 -$2 per cwt.
Trade on Oct. 20 saw steers bring $81.40 to $83.35 while lighter-weight heifers maintained their premium over steers to go between $82-$84.
Demand from packers, unlike previous weeks, was lively on fewer, but still adequate, numbers.
The U.S. slaughter cattle market got a psychological boost as feedlots in Texas and the Oklahoma panhandle sold 140,000 head last week: a record. Cash prices in the Southern Plains cattle-feeding hub were firm at $68 (U.S.) per cwt. by the end of the week.
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Whether that boost is lasting may depend on how the trade interprets the U.S. department of agriculture’s quarterly (July-June) cattle-on-feed report. Marketings were down by one percent compared to 1993, while placements were down by five percent.
It seems pace may have picked up in September, with marketings up by one percent, and the actual number of cattle on feed down by six percent.
Feeders moving steadily
Back in Canada, the run of fall feeders continues, as volumes on offer were 40 percent higher than last week and 18 percent higher than in 1993. Canfax predicts November is going to see a larger-than-normal offering of calves and that volume may even extend into December.
Interest from smaller buyers was more evident, as was better quality in larger packages of calves.
