Steer prices up
SASKATOON – Fed steers in Alberta broke through the $90 per cwt ceiling last week, propelled by stronger U.S. prices, and fewer heavier cattle. Canfax said weekly volume was up by six percent to just over 13,000 head.
Prices started the week out with a 50-cent gain, and were up by $1.50 per cwt by Dec. 18 on the steers and $2 per cwt on top-quality heifers.
Again on the American side, the U.S. department of agriculture’s seven-state cattle-on-feed report put numbers of cattle in feedlots as of Dec. 1 at six percent fewer than last year at this time, while the number put into feedlots is down by one percent. Marketings are better than 1993, by three percent.
Read Also
Canada-U.S. trade relationship called complex
Trade issues existed long before U.S. president Donald Trump and his on-again, off-again tariffs came along, said panelists at a policy summit last month.
On the feeder cattle side, a blip in supply has pushed volumes up by 15 percent compared to the first week of December, and up by nearly 30 percent compared to the same week in 1993, Canfax said. Buyers were active, especially on some quality pre-conditioned calves, due to the stronger fed market.
Stock cow trade is mixed, Canfax reports. Good females traded well, but plainer cows were discounted heavily. Bred cows and heifers ranged from $600-$1,340 a head.
Hogs get a boost
Unpredictable has got to be the buzzword for hog prices during the last half of 1994.
Saskatchewan Index 100 pool prices were up by $10.40 per ckg last week to $114.50. Alberta hogs were up by $10.70 to finish the week at $113.30, while Manitoba hogs were up by $11.12 for a weekly price of $116.36.
