Shrinking cattle herds in Canada and the United States are raising prices on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange to record levels, as well as those at Manitoba auction sites.
“Lower supplies, strong demand,” summarized Allan Munroe, manager of Killarney Auction Mart.
Prices remained elevated during the week ended March 10. Feeder steers weighing under 500 pounds ranged in price from $270 to $385 per hundredweight, compared to $300-$395/cwt. in the week prior. Steers weighing 800 lb. or higher ranged in price from $195 to $271/cwt., similar to the $195-$268 range in the previous week.
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Manitoba cattle prices, Dec. 3
Cattle prices from Manitoba’s major livestock auction marts during the week Nov. 25-Dec. 2, 2025.
Heifers weighing 500 lb. or less were sold for $230-$316/cwt., similar to $230-$307 from one week earlier. Those weighing 800 lb. or more ranged in price between $165 and $235/cwt., compared to $170-$239 during the previous week.
D1 and D2 cows during the week ended March 10 were sold for $100-$132/cwt., compared to $95-$142/cwt. one week earlier. Mature bulls sold for $105-$155/cwt., while on the week ended March 3, they sold for $95-$148.50.
“The butcher trade has really taken off. Those middleweight to lightweight heifers have gained lots of strength too,” Munroe said.
On the CME, the April feeder cattle contract closed at US$199.15/cwt. on March 9, hours after reaching its highest price since 2015 at $200.775/cwt. Meanwhile, the April live cattle contract closed at $164.80/cwt., two days after hitting an eight-year high of $166.675.
At least 9,913 cattle went through the rings across Manitoba during the week ended March 9, about 2,000 fewer than the week before. Munroe expects those numbers to decline in the coming weeks.
“Guys are getting ready for calving and they need pen space,” he said. “We’ll see pretty good numbers over the next few weeks for sure, and then we’ll likely see numbers start to drop off as they normally do at this time of year.”
Munroe said demand from Eastern Canada is driving the market in Manitoba now. He expects prices to either stay at current levels or have more room to grow in the short term.
“We’re going to see strong prices, whether it continues to rise or stay steady. We’re in for some very good times, but day to day, it’s hard to say,” Munroe added.
On March 6, the U.S. Department of Agriculture released new proposed “Product of USA” or “Made In the USA” labelling requirements for meat, poultry and eggs. If approved, those specific labels would only be placed on animal products if the animals were born, raised, slaughtered and processed in the United States.
Currently, meats can have the label if the animals were born and raised elsewhere, but were processed or slaughtered in the U.S. On March 7, Canada’s Agriculture Minister Marie-Claude Bibeau and Trade Minister Mary Ng said in a statement they will “closely review” the new rules.
