Compared to last week, short-keep replacement cattle and feeders in the mid-weight categories were steady to $3 lower on average; feeder cattle under 600 lbs. traded $2 lower to as much as $5 higher. Featherlight calves remain strong trading at similar levels to late December. Most auction markets resumed their regular sales schedules last week. […] Read more
Klassen: Feeder market starts 2020 on steady tone
U.S. livestock: Cattle rise on firm cash market, harsh Plains weather
Chicago | Reuters — U.S. live cattle futures climbed to the loftiest levels of the week on Friday on expectations for higher cash cattle sales at Plains feedlot markets and as harsh weather in parts of the region increased stress on the animals. Some feedlot cattle in the central and northern Plains have traded at […] Read more
U.S. livestock: Cattle rally on tightening supplies, strong cash market
Chicago | Reuters — U.S. live cattle futures jumped by as much as two per cent on Monday and feeder cattle futures rose by up to three per cent, propelled by strong cash market prices and tightening supplies of animals, analysts said. A $2 jump in cash cattle prices at southern Plains feedlot markets late […] Read more
Klassen: Feeder market remains firm
Feeder cattle markets experienced light volumes during the final week of December and prices were relatively unchanged compared to week-ago levels. Yearling values were slightly softer, as these cattle will not have enough time to be ready for the April fed market. Buying interest for mid-weight categories was characterized as sluggish, while light-weight bawlers were […] Read more
U.S. livestock: Live cattle touch seven-month peak on weather woes
Chicago | Reuters — U.S. live cattle futures closed higher on Tuesday, recording a seven-month high on expectations that a winter storm this week would slow the movement of cattle to beef packing plants and possibly curb the ability of feedlot cattle to gain weight, traders said. A powerful snowstorm swept across Colorado and into […] Read more
Not bad feels pretty good for cattle producers this year
It’s far from a banner year but given how things started, 2019 has been better than expected
Reading Time: 3 minutes This year has probably gone better than most cattle producers in Alberta expected. “We started out dry and in a drought, and conditions were a concern early in the year,” said Brian Perillat, manager and senior analyst with CanFax. “But we worked through it and we’ve come full circle. “We’ve got really ample feed supplies […] Read more
Klassen: Feeder cattle market consolidation continues
Western Canadian feeder cattle markets were unchanged from week-ago levels. Larger pre-sort calf sales were held across the prairies. Buying interest was barely sufficient to support the market at the current levels. The risk tolerance shifted from medium to low this past week. Discounts appeared to be more severe on unweaned and unvaccinated calves. Colder […] Read more
Klassen: Feeder cattle market stabilizes
Compared to last week, Western Canadian feeder cattle markets traded $2 to $3 on either side of unchanged. Most auction barns held feature sales over the past week and steady demand was noted across the prairies. Calves appeared to gain momentum late in the week with favorable weather enhancing buying interest; however, yearlings were quite […] Read more
Klassen: Feeder market experiences bouncing behaviour
Compared to last week, western Canadian yearling markets traded $2-$4 higher on average; calves traded $2 to as much as $6 higher. The feeder market has recovered after a softer tone earlier in October. Favourable weather in southern Alberta over the past week caused Lethbridge-area feedlots to step forward more aggressively, especially in the lighter […] Read more
Klassen: Limited harvest progress weighs on feeder cattle
Compared to last week, western Canadian feeder cattle markets were down $2 to as much as $8 in some cases. A fortuitous bounce in the barley market resulted in a softer tone for replacement cattle. It appears that the Canadian barley crop will be smaller than earlier anticipated and some of the crop will likely […] Read more
Cyber-Savvy Farmer
