This past week, Alberta packers were buying fed cattle in the range of $270-$274 on a dressed basis, up $2-$4 from seven days earlier. Strength in the fed cattle market spilt over into the feeder complex as feeding margins moved into positive territory for the first time this year. Compared to last week, western Canadian […] Read more
Klassen: Cash feeder market shrugs off lower futures
Klassen: Feeder market incorporates risk premium
Fed and feeder cattle markets have incorporated a risk premium due to the uncertainty in beef production. Adverse weather has plagued much of the U.S. Midwest over the past couple of months and the six- to 10-day forecast calls for above-normal precipitation. Compared to last week, western Canadian yearling markets traded $2-$3 higher on average […] Read more
U.S. livestock: Cattle drop further on rising supply, weak cash prices
Chicago | Reuters — Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) live cattle futures dropped for a fourth straight session on Wednesday, pressured by weaker cash cattle prices and seasonally rising supplies, traders said. Technical selling further weighed on the market, sending the spot contract to the lowest level in nearly six weeks. “We’re going to be coming […] Read more
Connecting the dots: Less stress = less sickness = fewer treatments for cattle
The time spent on acclimation is easily reclaimed with the benefit of improved herd health, says longtime vet
Reading Time: 3 minutes Low-stress handling has been around for decades, but the practice is becoming more widespread. “There has always been a bit of a trend,” said Dr. Roy Lewis, a well-known Alberta veterinarian who had a large-animal practice for many years. But while the techniques are commonly used in the handling of purebred bulls, on some cow-calf […] Read more
U.S. livestock: Live cattle hit contract highs on weather woes
Chicago | Reuters — Chicago Mercantile Exchange live cattle futures rose Tuesday, with the benchmark June contract hitting a high as poor feedlot conditions in portions of the U.S. Plains raised concerns about beef supplies, traders said. Lean hogs closed lower in a profit-taking setback from contract highs set a day earlier. Fat cattle futures […] Read more
Klassen: Feeder market holds value
Western Canadian feeder cattle prices were relatively unchanged compared to seven days earlier. Buying interest for yearlings was somewhat stronger while calves in the eastern Prairie regions were softer. Moderate temperatures are in the seven-day forecast for most of Western Canada, so the risk discount due to adverse weather has evaporated. Barley jumped an additional […] Read more
U.S. livestock: Hogs dip from two-week high, await trade news
Chicago | Reuters — U.S. lean hog futures retreated on Wednesday after four straight sessions of gains in a technical and profit-taking setback from two-week highs as investors awaited new developments in U.S.-China trade negotiations. Cattle futures also fell broadly, although worries about a late-winter snowstorm forecast for the beef cattle-producing U.S. Plains underpinned the […] Read more
Feed weekly outlook: Prairie wheat, barley prices still look good
Prices for feed wheat and barley in Western Canada are doing pretty good, according to Nelson Neumann of Agfinity in Edmonton. Feed wheat is up to $6 per bushel in the Edmonton area and about $250 per tonne in the Lethbridge area, he said. Feed barley was still quite strong, although the price had softened […] Read more
Klassen: Feeder market easily absorbs adverse weather
Western Canadian feeder markets were relatively unchanged from week-ago levels but there were a couple of unique characteristics in certain regions. Quality yearling packages were $2-$4 higher in Alberta but fleshier replacements were discounted. Eastern Prairie regions had grass cattle under 600 lbs. trading $3 to as much as $8 above week-ago levels. Order buyers […] Read more
Klassen: Fed cattle market lifts feeder prices
Compared to last week, western Canadian feeder cattle markets traded $4 on either side of unchanged. Early in the week, the market was rather sluggish but a fortuitous bounce in the live cattle futures quickly spilled over into the feeder complex. Yearlings and heavier calves ended the week $2 to $4 higher. Feeding margins are […] Read more
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