Fed cattle lose value
Fed cattle markets lost on average $1-$2.50 per hundredweight although most of the weakness was in the earlier part of the week, said Canfax.
Volume was almost 14,000 head last week; not a big week but twice as large as the week before.
Some producers chose to sell their cattle rather than fight the market any longer, Canfax said.
Packer kills nationally are about 62,500 weekly, a pace that should keep fed cattle moving through the system. Packers lifted cattle a little quicker than in recent weeks.
Read Also
USDA’s August corn yield estimates are bearish
The yield estimates for wheat and soybeans were neutral to bullish, but these were largely a sideshow when compared with corn.
Alberta prices Nov. 27 were steers $73.50-$78.25, flat rail $130.95 and heifers $75.75.
December is rarely a strong month for the beef market, but gradually tightening supplies may help prices slowly improve, said Canfax.
Kills by the end of the month will slow, but a few extra weekdays in December compared to November will help keep the total up.
Ample kills are critical to getting through the market-ready supply.
Feeder numbers low
Feeder volumes through Alberta auction markets fell 54 percent to a little more than 38,000 head, which was 48 percent below a year ago.
Prices also softened, with feeder steers losing $1.50-$2.75 per cwt. A wider range has been seen, depending on the quality of calves.
Feeder heifers fell further, with 400-700 lb. animals down by $1.50-$3 and 700-900 lb. and heavier down $3.50-$5. These prices were $10.50-$18 lower than a year ago.
D1, 2 cows were down $1.50.
Canfax said feeder volumes are expected to be below the year-ago pace for the rest of the year.
Prices should be steady to softer.
Slaughter cow volumes should increase, but this may be seen in kill numbers, not in auction market volumes because the federal cull assistance program requires a slaughter certificate.
Bred cows were $400-$700 on poor quality cows, $700-$900 on medium quality, and $900-$1,140 on good quality.
Bred heifers traded mostly at $850-$1,300, but some bred heifers in northern Alberta traded at $400-$700. Cow-calf pairs were $875-$1,100.
Store beef was cheap
Retail beef prices slumped in the July to September period before picking up in October.
With the rest of the beef industry facing decreased prices, retail prices also fell.
During the summer, grocery stores featured surplus items at dramatically lower prices, like ground beef as low as 69 cents per lb., Canfax said.
Nationally, the average retail price dropped 12 percent from June to September, but it was clear some surplus products (from the chuck, hip and ground) traded lower while middle meats, such as loin and rib, were fairly steady.
In the retail world, a 12 percent move in price in such a short period is significant, just like the 12 percent increase in price that occurred in early 2001, Canfax said.
September’s price was the lowest since January 2001 with the average ground beef price of $4.48 per kilogram down 18 percent or 97 cents per kg from 2002.
Steak cuts saw little change with the round steak average for September at $10.91 per kg, up one percent or six cents per kg from September 2002.
To the end of October, the retail beef price average was $11.07 per kg, one percent higher than the same period last year at $10.93 per kg.
Hog prices steady
The U.S. pork cut-out value declined again, but packers kept hog prices fairly steady, said Manitoba Agriculture.
Wholesale prices for U.S. Thanksgiving hams continued to fall.
U.S. hog slaughter is still above expectations, leading to lower than anticipated hog prices.
However, the demand for hogs is relatively strong. The week’s prices were almost 30 percent above the same week last year and even slightly higher than the comparable week in 2001, despite smaller weekly slaughter for those two years.
The Iowa-Minnesota daily direct hog price (plant mean, 51-52 percent, lean carcass converted to live weight) increased from $37.27 US per cwt. on Nov. 24 to $37.83 on Nov. 27.
However, on average, the week’s hog price was down by one percent from the previous week.
The weaker U.S. hog market and stronger Canadian dollar led to lower Canadian hog prices.
Sheep, goat trade
At Ontario Stockyards Inc., 3,238 sheep and lambs and 206 goats traded.
Good grain-fed lambs, all weights, sold steady.
The large quantity of overweight lambs traded lower, while unfinished kinds, sheep and goats sold steady.
The large volume of Khatadin lambs traded under extreme pressure.
