Cattle up, hogs down
The strength of fed cattle prices has encouraged some producers to dip into next month’s cattle supplies.
Canfax said this is reducing the possibility of lower prices next month when the number of animals going to market was expected to increase.
Prices last week were steady to 50 cents per hundredweight higher.
Short fed cattle made up close to 80 percent of the offering. Prices Nov. 19 were steers $87-$89.40 per cwt., flat rail $147.40-$150.85 and heifers $88.50-$90.
Canfax said beef movement is starting to feel the effects of higher cash cattle prices but steady to lower wholesale prices.
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Sales are considered sluggish this week. Heavier carcasses are trading $8-$12 per cwt. lower than carcasses at ideal weight.
Canfax expects the number of market-ready cattle to increase in December.
“However, as cattle are pulled forward some of that pressure is removed. Sellers should still be looking at today’s ‘island market’ as an opportunity to trade cattle.”
Cow sales were reported steady to $2 per cwt higher. Tighter supplies were reported and the demand for feeder cows is forcing slaughter cow prices higher.
Feeder cattle prices were steady on most weight ranges last week.
The number on offer dropped off 25 percent from last week, and was 27 percent lower than a year ago. Just over 50,000 head were sold in Alberta last week.
Many feedlots are still looking for quality cattle to put into their pens, Canfax said. Prices should continue steady to higher on feeders as demand continues for quality animals and year-end taxation issues cause some to buy cattle.
Bred cow prices were $500-$1,250. Most top quality cows were from $950-$1,250, with medium types from $750-900. Bred heifers were priced from $550-$1,375. Top quality heifers traded from $800-$1,200, with medium types from $700-$1,000. Cow-calf pairs ranged from $800-$1,100.
Hog prices still bad
In the hog market there was more bad news as prices in Canada and the United States drifted lower last week. The Omaha, Nebraska, price was $18.50 (U.S.) per cwt. Nov. 20, down 50 cents from the previous Friday.
In Western Canada, cash prices for Index 100 hogs were in the low to mid $60s per 100 kilograms late last week, down $6-$10 per 100 kg from the same time the week before. This means producers were getting only about half their cost of production.
U.S. hog slaughter continues to run at more than two million head a week.
The Canadian Pork Market Review from the George Morris Centre in Guelph, Ont., notes that slaughter normally peaks the week before the U.S. Thanksgiving holiday so this week’s kill will probably be a record.
