Fed cattle strengthen
Fed cattle were $1.50-$2 per hundredweight higher last week, Canfax said.
Volumes reported by Canfax members were moderately active.
Prices started out steady to sluggish but by late on March 30 live trade gained $2-$3 with prices hitting $87 per cwt. More calves were in the mix, but yearlings still account for most of the trade.
The fed cattle set aside saw less participation, with only 53 registered bidders participating, Canfax said. The average weighted accepted bid was $1.29. Cattle were set aside from Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Ontario, and Quebec.
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Alberta fed cattle prices March 31 in light volume saw steers at $84.25-$85 per cwt. live, $142.75-$144.25 flat rail and heifers $84.25.
Canfax said packers appear to have good inventory and will need six-day-a-week kills to process.
Sellers will want to hold onto their recent gains in April. Supplies appear manageable for the first half of the month.
The Canadian cutout for AAA and AA product two weeks ago rose $3.75 from the previous week.
U.S. cutouts last week were $2.25 US higher on Choice product, but $2 lower on Select.
The Calgary wholesale market for this week’s delivery is steady at $139-$140 Cdn.
Feeder prices rise
Volumes through Alberta auction markets rose with 26,000 head trading, up 84 percent from the week before, but only half of last year’s volume.
Price averages rebounded, with the exception of 500-600 pound steers that were $1 per cwt. lower.
Steers 600-700 lb. rose $1 per cwt., 700-900 lb. rose $2.50-$3.50, and 900 lb. and heavier steers traded $5 stronger, said Canfax.
Heifers 500-800 lb. were steady to $1.50 higher and 800-900 lb. and heavier heifers rose $3.50.
The stronger prices will encourage feeder cattle movement, Canfax said. Also, stronger fed prices have encouraged feedlots to move market-ready fats and they will have to refill pens.
D1, 2 cows fell $3, while butcher bulls were down $3.25. Cows are expected to remain steady with most trades at $25-$30.
Stock bred cows were $330-$750 on medium quality and $750-$1,175 on excellent quality. Most bred heifers in southern and northern Alberta fetched $800-$1,200, but some sales were as low as $400. Cow-calf pairs were $400-$1,225, depending on quality.
Hogs rise
The Manitoba hog 100 index was estimated at $151 per 100 kilograms last week compared to $141.96 the week before and $162.29 last year at the same time.
American cash hog prices rose. Reuters News Agency reported that healthy pork plant margins in the United States and readily available hogs encouraged plants to boost production.
USDA estimated the week’s kill through April 2 at 1.974 million head, compared with 1.955 million a week before and 1.930 million a year ago.
The large slaughter may weigh on pork prices in the near-term, which could then hurt packer margins and ultimately pressure cash hog prices, dealers told Reuters.
Hog futures rose last week on expectation of higher U.S. pork exports and renewed interest in hams after a couple of weeks of slow trade.
Sheep steady
Ontario Stockyards reported 708 sheep and lambs and 66 goats traded. Sheep and lambs sold steady. Goats sold barely steady.
The Ontario Sheep Marketing Agency market report noted that volumes typically peak during the two weeks before Easter, with variable timing of the price peak. In most years, Orthodox Easter falls on the same day or a week after Easter. This year Orthodox Easter occurs on May 1 and Passover is from April 24 to May 1.
A similar situation occurred in 2002, when Orthodox Easter fell five weeks after Easter, the report said. This resulted in a peak of 4,482 lambs, 80 percent of which were less than 80 lb., during the week before Orthodox Easter.
Ontario Stockyards reported selling an average of 1,000 head of western sheep, lambs and goats per week during January. By early February it appeared that the supply of western lambs was trailing off, likely a result of the time of year, the report said.
