Jerry Klassen

This past year was another volatile 52-week period for the feeder cattle complex. Looking back at market reviews, I believe the lowest market sentiment was in late April when Charolais-cross steers were trading at $128 per hundredweight (cwt) in Lethbridge while barley was touching the $300 per tonne level. This past week, similar cattle were […] Read more

Most of Western Canada experienced harsh winter conditions earlier in December, causing many auction barns to post pone sales by one or two weeks. Cattle buyers have now found larger volumes of lighter-weight calves coming on the market, which tempered the upside in the feeder cattle complex. Western Canadian calves were a solid $3 to […] Read more

Western Canadian feeder cattle values were steady to $2 per hundredweight (cwt) higher last week as year-end pent-up demand stepped forward more aggressively. While winter conditions tempered buying enthusiasm from major feedlot operators, there appeared to be more interest from the small farmer/feedlot operator that will place cattle in the custom lot. Demand from backgrounding […] Read more

Extremely cold temperatures along with adverse feedlot conditions caused feeder cattle prices to trade steady to $3 per hundredweight (cwt) lower on average last week across Western Canada. This first blast of winter came as a shock to many feedyards, resulting in limited buying interest for fresh calves. The market was fairly choppy throughout the […] Read more

Western Canadian feeder cattle prices were steady to $4 per hundredweight (cwt) lower last week depending on the region. A slightly softer U.S. feeder market has spilled over into Manitoba and eastern Saskatchewan, while major operations in Alberta are comfortable with current inventory levels, which has limited the buying interest over the past couple of […] Read more

Western Canadian feeder cattle values were quite variable over the last week as feedlot managers were paying premiums for quality features. Feeding margins have become so fine-tuned over the past year that any calf lacking performance quality was discounted accordingly. Order buyers have sharpened their senses and there is no anxiety if they have to […] Read more

Western Canadian feeder cattle prices were generally steady with week-ago levels with no major feature influencing the market structure. The market actually felt sluggish while overall auction volumes remain at seasonal highs. Winter-type conditions in southern Alberta caused a defensive tone among major feedlot operators who shied away from bawling unweaned non-feature lighter calves. However, […] Read more

Alberta packers were buying fed cattle in the range of $123 to $124 per hundredweight (cwt) this week, up $2 in comparison to seven days earlier. Healthy pen closeouts and stronger April live cattle futures appeared to renew buying enthusiasm for feeder cattle. Similar to last week, heavier calves were well wanted by larger feedlot […] Read more

The Western Canadian feeder cattle market has been trading $3 per hundredweight (cwt) lower to $2/cwt higher in comparison to seven days earlier. Heavier receipts were noted at most auction barns with spring-born calves coming on the market in full swing. Once again, the market remains sensitive to quality features with pre-conditioned calves trading at […] Read more

The dynamics of the feeder market continue to change, and I feel this is better for the overall beef industry. The overall conclusion is that feedlot operators want to know more information about the feeder cattle and if the buyer cannot supply this information, discounts are noted on the purchase price because the risks are […] Read more