Fed cattle prices mixed
Fed cattle prices were mixed last week with steers rising $1 per hundredweight and heifers down $1.70 mainly due to lower quality, said Canfax.
Trade was slow to develop. Sales were strongest midweek and appeared to ease off slightly at week’s end.
Volume was down five percent to slightly more than 19,000 head through Canfax members.
Packer buying was sporadic with some plants’ bids much lower than the high bid.
Alberta prices March 4 were steers $84.25-$87.50 per cwt., flat rail $142.25-$147 and heifers $85.70-$87.85.
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The market-ready cattle supply for the rest of March should be manageable, giving sellers better bargaining power, said Canfax.
Canadian cutouts were up $3-$3.50 from the previous week but were 20 percent lower than a year ago.
Strength was noted on middle and end cuts but the largest increases were in the middle meats.
The resumption of U.S. trade to Mexico of boneless beef younger than 30 months will likely remove the Canadian premium on chuck and hip cuts. U.S. cutouts rose $7.75-$8.20 US partly in anticipation of the Mexican market opening.
Wholesale prices in Calgary this week are steady to $4 Cdn higher in a range of $144-$147 per cwt. while the Montreal price is $5 higher to $149-$150.
Feeder volumes rise
Alberta feeder auction market volumes jumped 112 percent from the previous week with just under 30,000 head trading. That is still 24 percent below a year ago.
Prices were steady to slightly softer on all weight ranges.
Feeder steers 300-700 lb. were down 25 cents-$2.50 per cwt. from the week before, while 700-900 lb. and heavier were up $1-$2.50.
Feeder heifer prices were under pressure except for the 900 lb. and heavier weight group. Heifers 300-900 lb. were 50 cents to $2.25 lower, while heifers 900 lb. and heavier were $1.50 stronger.
D1, 2 cow prices were steady.
Canfax said feeder cattle and cows had a stronger undertone near the end of the week.
Feeder prices will be volatile and market direction will depend on how buyers and sellers view the reopening of the comment period in the U.S. for importation of Canadian live cattle.
Stock bred cows were $300-$500 on lower quality and $500-$760 on good quality.
Bred heifers were $300-$500 on lower quality and $500-$730 on good quality in northern Alberta, and in central Alberta were $600-$820.
Cow-calf pairs in northern Alberta were $510-$825.
Hog markets volatile
The Canadian hog industry was thrown into turmoil March 5 when the U.S. National Pork Producers Council asked the U.S. government to apply anti-dumping and countervail duties on Canadian hogs.
It is seeking duties ranging from five to 20 percent.
Earlier in the week, the U.S. wholesale pork cut-out value had been rising but may have hit its limit because ham supplies may now be sufficient for the Easter market, said Manitoba Agriculture.
The carcass cutout value in the U.S. fell by $1.28 US per cwt. March 1-4.
The news of Mexico opening its border to U.S. beef and veal younger than 30 months and USDA’s reopening of the comment period on Canada cattle imports weighed on pork and hog markets.
Pork had replaced some of the beef that was exported to Mexico, which had been the second largest importer of American beef and pork after Japan.
U.S. exports of pork to Mexico rose 11 percent in 2003 compared to 2002, said Manitoba Agriculture.
The Iowa-Minnesota daily direct hog price (plant mean, 51-52 percent, lean carcass converted to live weight) increased about 3.7 percent from $47.31 per cwt. on March 1 to $49.04 on March 4.
According to Manitoba Agriculture, hog prices in that province were about 1.3 percent higher than the week before.
Sheep prices steady
At Ontario Stockyards, 1,680 sheep and lambs and 197 goats traded.
Light, well fed lambs, sheep and goats sold at steady prices, while heavy lambs sold on a moderate demand at prices steady to $10 Cdn per cwt. higher.
The following are in dollars per cwt:
New-crop lambs, $130-$166, highs to $186.
Lambs, 65 to 80 lb., $76-$143, highs to $170; 80 to 95 lb., $64-$83, highs to $120; over 95 lb., $64-$105, highs to $113.
Feeder lambs, $90 to $120.
Lambs over 120 lb., $50-$60.Sheep, $42-$56, highs to $63.
Plainer types, all weights, $40-$54. Rams, $50-$64.
