The number of cattle moving through the rings at Manitoba cattle auction sites for the week ended Oct. 20 remained strong in the middle of the fall run.
In total, 15,955 head were sold at auction, marking a 51 per cent increase from the previous week’s total of 10,539. All eight sites in the province exceeded 1,100 cattle each at their regular sales, with Heartland Livestock Services at Virden selling 4,111 animals at its sale Oct. 19.
Allan Munroe, general manager of Killarney Auction Mart, said the numbers are typically reflective of the time of year.
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“It’s fall run time. This is when (the cattle) always come in. If we’re not getting them now, we’re in trouble,” he said.
At Killarney’s Oct. 17 sale, 1,358 cattle came to market; such totals are “not uncommon. Pretty normal,” Munroe added.
Current feeder prices are at their highest levels in years. Lightweight steers ranged from $265 to $395 per hundredweight (cwt.) during the week ended Oct. 20, while heavyweight steers were priced from $190 to $243 per cwt. Lightweight heifers sold from $200 to $290 per cwt. and heavyweights sold between $170 and $210.50 per cwt.
D1 and D2 cows were sold from $87 to $107 per cwt. and mature bulls were at $105 to $145.50.
“The number of cows across North America has been in decline the last few years. We’re going to see fewer feeder cattle available,” Munroe said. “We sold a lot of cows last spring and last winter because of the weather conditions…The number of cows will keep dropping.”
Strong cattle prices coincide with rallies in the Chicago Mercantile Exchange. The December live cattle contract closed at US$151.675 per cwt. on Oct. 20, $3.525 higher than its opening price three days earlier. January feeder cattle closed at $179.25 on Oct. 20, $4.15 higher than its Oct. 17 open. Both prices approached monthly highs.
Munroe added that the amount of hay in the Killarney area is greater than last year, while pastures have been drying up due to a lack of precipitation.
Top-end steer calves are going to Eastern Canada, he said, while some yearlings are being sold to the U.S.
Manitoba Beef Producers began its annual district meetings in-person near Stonewall (District 9) on Oct. 19 and in Ashern (District 11) on Oct. 20. More will take place in Dauphin (District 13) on Oct. 24, Miniota (District 7) on Oct. 25, Carman (District 3) on Nov. 1, Austin (District 5) on Nov. 2 and Deloraine (District 1) on Nov. 3. All in-person meetings will start at 4 p.m.
A virtual meeting for all other districts will take place on Nov. 7 at 7 p.m. To register for any of the district meetings, visit the Manitoba Beef Producers website.
