Jerry Klassen

April 20 — Alberta feeder prices have climbed $10-$12 per hundredweight (cwt) since the first week of February. The market has done a good job of absorbing the larger supplies due to the slower export pace. Feedlot placements in Alberta and Saskatchewan during March were up 16 per cent over year-ago levels. This increase follows […] Read more

April 13 — U.S. feeder cattle are within reach of historical highs; strong feedlot competition along with tighter available supplies have resulted in prices surging $10 per hundredweight (cwt) in April. The U.S. Department of Agriculture reported the highest prices for six-weight steers in Nebraska brought back $138/cwt. Feedlots are being more aggressive with replacement […] Read more

April 6 — Feeder cattle prices in Western Canada were steady to $2 per hundredweight (cwt) higher last week while U.S. prices were $2 to $4 higher. The feeder market had a firmer tone after the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s prospective plantings and stocks report. U.S. farmers intend to seed 88.798 million acres of corn […] Read more

March 29 — Improving feedlot margins and a slight dip in the Canadian dollar caused feeder cattle prices to ratchet higher last week. Slaughter cattle prices reached yearly highs and we are seeing this strength spill over into the feeder cattle complex. Supplies are still readily available and some cow/calf producers are liquidating cattle now […] Read more

March 22 — Feeder cattle prices in Western Canada appear to be consolidating. Auction market volumes are 10 to 15 per cent above last year, reflecting the burdensome supply situation. Alberta and Saskatchewan feedlot placements during February were up 19 per cent over last year; however, marketings were down nine per cent in comparison to […] Read more

March 12 — Stronger fed cattle prices and improving feedlot margins continue to support Canadian feeder cattle prices. While the Canadian dollar continues to gain on the U.S. greenback, Canadian feeder cattle exports are starting to improve. Unofficial data has weekly February feeder cattle exports averaging 6,000 head per week, up from the lows of […] Read more

March 8 — Cash feeder prices in Western Canada have been grinding lower over the past week despite stronger demand from the feedlot sector. The market continues to struggle due to the strength in the Canadian dollar and slower export pace. However, exports should start to pick up later in March as the U.S. market […] Read more

March 1 — Western Canadian feeder cattle prices remain under pressure despite strength in the slaughter cattle market. Alberta and Saskatchewan auction market volumes are running 10-12 per cent above last year’s, but with the slower export pace, supplies will remain above year ago levels into April. As of Jan. 1, there were an additional […] Read more

Feb. 22 — Statistics Canada’s Jan. 1 cattle inventory report was viewed as friendly to the cattle complex due to the lower overall inventory; however, the feeder cattle numbers were actually price-negative. The 2009 calf crop was estimated at 5.11 million head, down marginally from 5.288 million head in 2008. This was largely anticipated by […] Read more

Feb. 15 — The 2008 Canadian calf crop was 5.288 million head. The January-through-June 2009 calf crop was 4.402 million. My projections have the July-through-December 2009 calf crop at 700,000 head. (Official data will be available later this month.) If we account for dairy retention, Canadian beef calves born from June through December 2009 are […] Read more