Fed average dips
Fed cattle traded steady to 50 cents per hundredweight lower last week, said Canfax.
After a weak start, prices firmed and feedlots were active sellers.
Canadian packers showed good interest. Feedlots started the week with no carryover.
About 16,000 head traded.
Alberta prices March 29 were steers $96.25-$98.50 per cwt., flat rail $165-$166.35 and heifers $96.25-$98.50, flat rail $166-$166.50.
The basis narrowed to $12.53 under.
For the week ending March 24, 24,004 head of slaughter cattle were exported.
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Canfax expected trade would be slow this week, which is shortened by the Good Friday holiday.
Calves should appear on the market over the next few weeks.
Beef lower
Cutouts fell again with Choice down $6.82 to $152.47 US and Select down $5.61 to $143.22.
The Choice-Select spread narrowed to $9.25. Slaughter in the United States has slowed and that might help stabilize beef prices.
Canadian cutouts to the middle of March were AAA $182.61 Cdn and AA $179.10.
Retailers in Canada seem to be digging in their heels and are unwilling to buy product at these levels. Canfax expected wholesale beef to drop this week with retailers featuring pork and chicken.
The Calgary wholesale price for delivery this week was steady at $164-$165.
Light feeders strong
There was good demand for light calves.
Steers 500-600 pounds and heifers 300-600 lb. were steady to $1.75 higher. Steers 300-400 lb. were $1.25 lower.
Grass cattle were strong with 600-800 lb. steers and heifers steady to 75 cents higher.
Steers and heifers 800-900 lb. and heavier were steady.
Alberta auction market volumes were six percent larger than the week before and 41 percent larger than last year at just more than 54,000 head.
Year to date auction market volumes are nine percent larger at 522,000 head.
For the week ending March 24, there were 9,201 head of feeder cattle exported. In the year to date 106,010 head have been exported, down five percent from last year.
Butcher cows lost ground, dropping 75 cents-$1. Butcher bulls were $1.25 lower.
Canfax expects grass cattle to trade steady to sideways, depending on quality as grass season nears. Feeder volumes are expected to taper down toward the end of the month.
A light offering in stock cow trade saw prices steady to lower. Bred cows were $800-$1,050 with tops to $1,200 and plain types $500-$750.
Bred heifers were $500-$900 and cow-calf pairs were $850-$1,100 with tops to $1,275 and plain types $600-$800.
Hog steady
U.S. hog prices moved mostly sideways with good deliveries and strong slaughter numbers.
The Iowa-southern Minnesota price March 30 was $45-$45.50 US per cwt., up from $44 March 23.
The U.S. composite pork carcass cut-out value was $64.41 March 30, down slightly from $65 March 23.
Federal slaughter in the U.S. during the week was estimated at 2.097 million, down slightly from 2.133 million the week before.
Despite a profitable year, U.S. hog producers are expanding only cautiously because of high feed costs.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s hogs and pigs report March 30 put all hogs on farms as of March 1 at 61.1 million head, up 1.3 percent from the year before. It pegged the breeding herd at 6.08 million, up 0.9 percent, and hogs kept for market at 55.02 million head, up 1.3 percent.
Bison steady
Top quality, younger-than-30-month bison bull carcasses in Canada in the desirable weight range were $1.60-$1.90 Cdn per lb. The weighted average was $180.69 per cwt. railgrade.
Rail prices for quality youthful older-than-30-month bulls were $120-$145 per cwt.
Cull cows were 10 to 20 cents per lb. live.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture reported March 13 that younger-than-30-month bull hot carcasses were $160-$185 US, with an average of $181.75 during February.
Cull cows were little changed, averaging $113.52 per cwt.
Lambs steady to stronger
In the busy pre-Easter sale, Beaver Hill Auction in Tofield, Alta., reported 1,252 sheep and 233 goats traded March 26. All classes sold steady to higher.
Lambs lighter than 70 lb. were $130-$189 per cwt. Lambs 70 to 85 lb. were $125-$185, 86 to 105 lb. were $112-$139 and 105-119 lb. were $115-$135. Lambs heavier than 120 lb. were $85-$97.50 per cwt.
Rams were $51-$84 per cwt. and cull ewes $51-$74 per cwt. Bred ewes were $140-$200 per head and families were $160-$200.
Good kid goats were $170-$200 per cwt. Nannies were $50-$90 per cwt. and mature billies were $137-$170.
Ontario Stockyards reported 3,767 sheep and lambs and 512 goats traded. All lambs sold $20 per cwt. higher but sheep were barely steady. Goats sold on strong demand.
