Fed cattle in Alberta were trading at $191 this past week, which set a positive tone in the feeder complex. Across the Prairies, heavier quality replacements over 700 pounds posted gains of $2 to $4 while lighter-weight cattle were $3 to $5 higher compared to seven days earlier. Feedlot margins improved with break-even pen closeouts […] Read more
Klassen: Higher fed cattle prices pull up feeder values
When cattle (prices) fly
Five to Remember: The year began with producers wondering if ‘fantastic’ prices could last — they did a lot more than that
Reading Time: 2 minutes At the start of the year, the big question in the cattle sector was, ‘Can prices stay this high all year?’ “The market right now is fantastic,” Herb Lock of Farm$ense Marketing said back in February. “Cow-calf producers right now are in their second world, floating around in the sky compared to other years.” Lock […] Read more
Klassen: Feeder cattle market ends on mixed tone
Western Canadian feeder cattle markets have ended the year on a mixed tone with most auction barns closed for the holiday season. Alberta packers were buying limited volumes of fed steers at $178 per hundredweight (cwt), down from highs of $183 earlier in December. The uncertainty over feedlot margins for the first and second quarters […] Read more
Record-heavy U.S. cattle won’t ground sky-high beef prices
Chicago | Reuters — U.S. cattle are hitting record weights and the heavier trend should continue next year, but beef production will still fall short of demand and keep prices high, industry experts said. Breeding bigger cattle is the only way to raise domestic beef supplies while ranchers struggle to rebuild the national herd, which is […] Read more
Pork, poultry to dictate future cattle prices, analyst says
CNS Canada –– Increased competition from pork and poultry may be the factors that ultimately stop skyrocketing beef prices across North America, according to one cattle market analyst. “We’ve had a phenomenal year of demand for beef and prices have been record-high right through the whole pipeline so the question we’re all asking now is […] Read more
Cattle leader says it’s time to rebuild the herd
ABP chair Greg Bowie says there is plenty of opportunity in the beef business, and wants to see the next generation seize it
Reading Time: 3 minutes Good times have finally returned to the beef sector, and now is the time to focus on bringing in the next generation, says the chair of Alberta Beef Producers. The entire industry has gotten greyer during the difficult decade following the discovery of BSE, said Greg Bowie. “Not only is the average producer in the […] Read more
Province’s decimated cow herd may be on the mend
BSE, low beef prices, and then high feed costs have decimated Alberta’s cow herd, but a turnaround is coming into view
Reading Time: 4 minutes Canadian cattle producers are receiving strong price signals to begin expanding their herds — but will that be enough to reverse the decline in the national herd? Canfax’s research manager Brenna Grant thinks so, but not until next year. “We are anticipating these prices that we’re currently seeing to stabilize, but the price signal for […] Read more
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