Fed cattle little changed
Cold weather slowed trade last week. Fed cattle prices were steady in light trade. The Canfax weekly steer average was $81.03 per hundredweight, up 15 cents. Heifers were steady at $80.68.
Volume was about 15,000 head, down 24 percent from the week before. Some cattle were carried over to the following week.
Exports saw 20,168 head sent south. Year to date exports are up three percent.
The cold weather will slow weight gain. Deliveries will likely be light again this week, but the extra production costs for this weather delay will have feedlots eager to list these cattle by mid-month, said Canfax.
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Timely marketings will be key in seeing carcass weights decline throughout the spring to support beef cut-out values and fed cattle prices.
Beef mixed
Cut-out values rose as U.S. slaughter fell to 613,000 head from 640,000 the week before. Choice cut-out values climbed 15 US cents, closing at $143.45. Select cutouts were 63 cents higher, closing at $137.68.
In Canada, cold weather slowed production. Beef margins have firmed recently, which should encourage retail features.
The Calgary wholesale market for delivery this week fell by $1 to $137-$139 Cdn.
Feeders down
Feeder cattle prices generally fell $1.50 per cwt. in light trade due to the cold, said Canfax.
Volume plunged 37 percent from the week before to 13,470 head, and was 68 percent lower than the same week last year.
Light steers 300-400 pounds fell $4.25. This may indicate dwindling supply and lower quality. Steers 400-600 lb. fell $1-$2 and 600-800 lb. were relatively steady with the top end of the range off 50 cents.
Steers 800-900 lb. and heavier fell $1-$2.
Heifers generally were down $1.25-$2 with the exception of 900 lb. and heavier that fell 50 cents.
So far this year, sales volume is down 45 percent from last year.
Exports to the United States two weeks ago rose four percent from the previous week but were two percent lower than the same week last year.
Feeder trade should return to seasonal levels this week and prices will struggle to hold ground.
Feeders 700-900 lb. should be under the most downward pressure because projected slaughter dates will be just in time for the midsummer fed market glut.
U.S. demand will do little to increase price.
D1, D2 slaughter cow prices climbed $1.75 per cwt. posting highs of $40. Butcher bulls rose $2.25.
Canfax expects cow demand will continue strong with prices trending $1-$2 per cwt. higher.
Butcher bulls should be steady to slightly higher for the next two weeks.
Hog prices gain
Packers have worked through the backlog of hogs that built up over Christmas.
Cold and snow in the U.S. impeded hog delivery, forcing packers to increase bids to get immediate slaughter supplies. It also slowed weight gains.
Improving pork prices gave packers some room to increase bids.
In a surprising move, Chicago hog futures have rallied despite large supplies of meat in North America, and no clear sign yet of a major reduction in the breeding herd in the U.S.
Ron Plain of the University of Missouri noted in his weekly commentary that February 2009 contracts for lean hogs were about 40 percent higher than the 2008 February contracts.
“What do the people trading lean hogs know that we do not?” he asked, adding that to get that price, pork production would need to fall eight to 13 percent or demand would have to increase sharply.
“Getting that much decline in the next 12 months seems highly unlikely, especially with the futures market offering this level of price protection or opportunity.”
Iowa-southern Minnesota cash hogs traded at $41.50 US per cwt. Feb. 1, up from $40
Jan. 25.
The U.S. composite pork carcass cut-out value was $60.72 Feb. 1, up from $56.59 Jan. 25.
U.S. slaughter for the week ending Feb. 1 was estimated at 2.28 million, down 1.2 percent from the week before, but 11 percent higher than the year before.
Bison
The Canadian Bison Association said prices crept higher. Grade A carcasses from youthful bulls in the desirable weight range in Canada were $1.90 to $2 per lb.
Heifers were $1.75 to $1.90 per lb.
Cull cows were 62 to 70 cents and bulls 45 to 65 cents per lb. hot hanging carcass.
Lambs rise
Ontario Stockyards reported 655 sheep and lambs and 58 goats traded last week. All lambs traded $10-$15 per cwt. higher. Sheep and goats were steady.
