Feeder cattle trading strong
SASKATOON (Staff) – A record number of feeder cattle were traded in Western Canada last week, with prices easier on lighter weight calves, but strong on heavy calves and yearlings.
Canfax reported sales of 105,579 head, the largest volume recorded since the organization has kept records on feeder cattle. Next largest volume was 105,342 head during the week ending Nov. 6, 1992.
Feedlots are easing up on their orders, Canfax said, as they are sitting with good supplies and yearlings purchased off grass aren’t ready to be sold.
Read Also
European wheat production makes big recovery
EU crop prospects are vastly improved, which could mean fewer canola and durum imports from Canada.
Prices for 600-700 pound steers averaged $89 per hundredweight in southern Alberta; $88.87 in central Alberta; $85.53 in northern Alberta; $90.08 in Saskatchewan; $89 in Manitoba and $81.38 in B.C.
On the slaughter side of the market, Canfax said a $1 per cwt. advance in prices is actually more like a $2 increase, given the weight of finished cattle traded last week. Most steers weighed from 1,325 to 1,425 lbs. while heifers were weighing between 1,225 to 1,350.
Packers were actively seeking cattle kept on feed longer, as the carcass yields on shorter kept grass cattle were down.
Hogs drop dramatically
Western Canadian hog prices followed U.S. prices lower in the last week, the Saskatchewan marketing group SPI said. A large number of hogs sent for slaughter coupled with much lower wholesale prices pushed live hog prices down.
In Saskatchewan, the average pooled Index 100 price was down by $11.20 per hundred kilograms at $135.50; Manitoba prices were down by $15.12 per ckg to $137.79 while Alberta prices were down by $9.10 per ckg at $140.50.
