The post Manitoba cattle prices April 14 appeared first on Manitoba Co-operator.

Steer calves under 700 pounds were quite variable with quotes coming steady to $15/cwt above week-ago levels. Heifers under 700 pounds were steady to $8 higher on average.  

The VJV market report from Ponoka included Charolais based steers averaging 1,012 pounds coming off a diet of five pounds of barley and corn silage with full processing records traded for $453/cwt 

• For daily livestock market updates, visit The Western Producer Markets Desk

Northern Livestock Sales in Lloydminster reported a smaller package of medium to larger frame Simmental cross steers carrying lighter butter with a mean weight of 926 pounds exited the ring at $486/cwt.  At the same sale, a package of 163 Charolais heifers carrying lower flesh with a mean weight of 861 pounds on backgrounding grain and silage ration with full preconditioning dropped the gavel at $467/cwt.  

At the Ste. Rose auction, a package of 30 mixed steers averaging 814 pounds were last bid at $535/cwt. At the same sale, a smaller string of 837-pound black heifers sold for $457/cwt.  

South of Calgary, medium to larger frame Charolais cross heifers evaluated at 720 pounds sold for $548/cwt at a ring sale. A producer north of Calgary reported a group of larger frame Angus cross steers weighing 715 pounds on silage and light grain ration with full processing records sold for $790 at a ring sale.   

The TEAM market report included a group of 190 Simmental/Angus/Gelbvieh blended heifers averaging 610 pounds on a diet of silage and seven pounds of whole oats with full processing records but no implants traded for $618/cwt fob ranch near Hines Creek, Alberta.  

At the Ste. Rose auction, a group of 84 black steers averaging 642 pounds were last bid at 659/cwt. At the same sale, a group of 33 black steers scaled at 547 pounds notched the board at $751/cwt.  Northern Livestock Sales in Lloydminster reported a 10-pack of black heifers weighing 495 pounds that traded for $700/cwt.  

The VJV market report from Weslock included 13 Simmental cross Angus weaned steers averaging 452 pounds traded for  on a diet of oats and hay mixture with full processing records  sold for $731/cwt.  

Alberta packers were buying fed cattle on a live basis at $328-$330/cwt fob feedlot in Southern Alberta, up $3-$5/cwt from seven days earlier. The June live cattle futures closed at $249/cwt on Friday, which was a fresh contract high. Stronger live cattle values has renewed optimism in the feeder complex.   

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The agreement, announced on Sunday, will allow JBS to resume normal operations at the plant at a time when beef prices have set record highs due to strong demand from consumers and historically low U.S. cattle supplies.

JBS and the United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW) Local 7 union resumed negotiations last week after nearly 3,800 employees went on strike to press for higher wages and a halt to company charges for replacing protective equipment. The union said it was the first time U.S. meatpacking workers had gone on strike in four decades.

“The strike worked,” Kim Cordova, president of UFCW Local 7, said on Monday.

The agreement secures wage increases over the next two years that were about 33 per cent higher than JBS offered in a pre-strike offer, according to the union. The deal also protects workers from having to pay for personal protective equipment and safeguards them against increases in healthcare costs, the union said.

Union to withdraw unfair labour practice charges

JBS said the deal was “within the economic framework” the company presented to the union months ago, though the union chose to reallocate pension contributions to wages.

“The strike at Greeley could have been avoided,” JBS said.

The meatpacker was pleased with the deal but “expressed disappointment that UFCW Local 7 leadership chose to eliminate the historic pension benefit that was part of the national agreement negotiated last year in partnership with UFCW International,” according to a statement.

Cordova said UFCW Local 7’s proposal was stronger than the national contract that unionized meatpacking workers at multiple other plants ratified with JBS last year.

As part of the deal with workers in Greeley, the union was withdrawing seven unfair labour practice charges against JBS, the company said.

Beef prices set records this year after the nation’s cattle inventory dropped to a 75-year low. Scarce supplies forced meatpackers to pay more for cattle to slaughter, even as processors benefited from the soaring beef prices.

Ranchers delivered cattle to other JBS plants during the strike at Greeley.

Rival meatpacker Tyson Foods closed a beef plant in Nebraska this year and reduced operations at a Texas facility.

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“Producer perspectives from across the country help ensure the code reflects the diversity of Canadian beef production systems and remains practical for producers who raise cattle,” Canadian Cattle Association president Tyler Fulton said in a news release.

WHY IT MATTERS: The national code serves as a reference point for provincial animal enforcement officers and courts and sets a basic standard of care for beef cattle in Canada, the Canadian Cattle Association says.

The current code of practice was published in 2013. An update began in 2023 with a 15-person committee that includes representatives from the cattle, processor and transport sectors, veterinary and animal welfare experts, researchers, government representatives and others.

The process involves “respectful dialogue, evidence-based decision-making, and shared accountability,” the news release said.

The draft code of practices includes changes such as:

• Added requirements for monitoring cattle “more frequently” during heat waves and cold weather
• Added requirements for natural or man-made shelter from wind in cold weather
• Expanded guidlines around low-stress handling
• Added requirements around not branding cattle on the face or sensitive areas, and use of pain medication when branding cattle under six months old
• An added section on spaying of female cattle — a practice it says isn’t common in Canada
• Expanded requirements and information around euthanizing cattle, including acceptable methods

Public consultation is open until June 12.

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Duguid, now 72, who raised purebred Angus with his father, sold off the last of his herd — about 130 head of cattle — last March. After more than five decades of raising cattle, it was a significant moment in his life, but also part of the next step in his succession plan.

“Succession planning is kind of like planting trees,” says Duguid. “It should have been done years ago.”

Duguid admits that one aspect of kick-starting his succession plan is his age. He decided it was time to slow down a little bit and let a younger generation take over.

Duguid has raised cattle alongside his son, Scott, near Arnes, Man., for almost 20 years. A second son had raised cattle with him in the early 2000s, but exited the industry over time after the BSE crisis in 2003.

“I have my son, but he’s also got three kids all very active in cattle” says Duguid. “Time to let them all do their thing, and I’m going to go do mine.”

The key to keeping his succession plan on track was hiring a consultant to navigate the process. While a number of financial institutions and organizations can guide people in a succession, Duguid ultimately chose to go the private route on a recommendation from a farmer friend.

“The first thing we had to do is find an accountant who would understand not just farm families, but money,” said Duguid.

With the price of cattle and land values at historic highs, asset values have skyrocketed since the early days of his career. The last thing Duguid wanted was for a large chunk of his hard-earned work to go toward taxes.

“Accountants are very valuable in this step,” added Duguid. “They know the ins and outs of what you’re trying to accomplish.”

Duguid highly recommends hiring a consultant for anyone in the cattle sector who may be nearing a point of succession. He admits a consultant won’t always make for smooth sailing, especially when it comes time to talk with family members.

“Between us and the consultant, then it got to the next stage … which was the hard part for me,” said Duguid. “The hardest part is accepting what you’re doing.”

Losing control of his farm, something he’d worked his whole life for, made Duguid question his direction at times. But he admits that taking over the farm is ultimately what the next generation wants, and maintaining the integrity of his operartion without having to sell land was valuable in itself.

It’s a legacy that led to one of his favourite memories of raising cattle. He was at a cattle show several years ago with his granddaughter, who won grand champion steer with an animal they had raised together. It was an emotional moment for Duguid. He had won the same award 50 years earlier.

“I showed her that and she had pretty big eyes,” said Duguid. “I was pretty proud that day.”

Changing demographic

Tyler Fulton, 50, cattle rancher and president of the Canadian Cattle Association, says it would be optimistic to think that a third of the country’s cattle producers have an active succession plan in place.

After finishing high school, he left the farm to earn a degree in agribusiness at the University of Manitoba and had an off-farm job for 25 years. It was the cattle business that brought him back to the family farm near Birtle, Man., in 2006.

“I always had a passion for cattle … much more so than for the grain sector,” said Fulton.

His operation, Tyton Farms, raises mother cows and backgrounds steers and heifer calves. Fulton estimates the farm operates about 1,000 head of cattle at any given time.

Succession planning is something he’s been exposed to his whole life.

“It’s been three generations now that we’ve moved through a fairly structured succession plan,” said Fulton.

The family farm was started by his grandfather. It was converted to a corporation when the farm was passed down to his father.

“That structure actually made it easier for my wife and I to acquire the farm from my parents,” said Fulton, adding that the transition took place about four years ago.

With the cattle sector currently as profitable as it is, Fulton admits there is a major challenge among the sector’s demographics.

“The average age of a cattle operator is older than really any other sector in ag,” said Fulton.

He feels this is partly due to the BSE crisis that hit Canada’s cattle sector in 2003. A large segment of his peers simply did not come back to raise cattle because the economics did not support it.

“That’s a challenge … but arguably it’s an opportunity for the youth today,” said Fulton.

He admits that it’s an interesting dynamic for an up-and-coming rancher just starting out.

“When you’re at the top of the cycle, you’re also incurring the highest cost for, really one of your largest line items in your balance sheet, and that is your breeding cattle,” said Fulton.

However, with limited growth in the cattle supply on both sides of the border, he expects high cattle prices will be around for a while.

“I think the high prices are are not always going to be around with us … but I think for for at least two or three years we’ve got a little bit of a buffer before we can see some downside.”

Even in a time of record cattle prices, successions are never easy. They require skills from financial, accounting and strategic planning to people management. If conversations are not handled with care, successions can quickly derail.

“There’s so many aspects to it that make it complex … and then you throw family dynamics into it and it can be extremely challenging.”

Preparing the next generation

Connor English, 27, raises cattle at English Ranching near Rivers, Man.

He grew up on a mixed farm, and his love for agriculture, particularly on the cattle side of things, was instilled in him as a boy.

“I just had a love for it ever since I was young,” said English. “I loved coming out to work with animals, especially, and just felt really good about it.

He’s the fifth generation on the family operation, and with two young boys of his own, he’s excited that the potential for a sixth generation is on deck.

English’s path back to the farm began with a two-year diploma program at Lakeland College, on opportunity that provided him with hands-on farm management experience. He met new, like-minded people along the way before he returned to the family farm in 2022 to work on a neighbouring operation.

Similar to Fulton’s observations, English added that a lot of producers left the cattle industry over time due to BSE, likely upsetting many transition plans in the process.

“It was always, to be honest, kitchen table conversations with Mom and Dad growing up to find a job off farm because it is tough going,” said English.

However, in those moments, English says that he always put up a fight for life on the farm. He didn’t know how that would look, but he knew that was what he wanted.

English feels that succession conversations are a critical point for family farms.

“It needs to be brought up a lot earlier than most operations do have it,” said English. “It’s something that we need to continue to develop a process to go through.”

To help in that effort, English has been learning from other producers in the industry about how they go about succession planning.

“I think it needs to start right when you’re a teenage kid,” he added. “It needs to be in a position where you know that the farm is there, but seeing opportunities to be away from it if you want to be.”

Having a plan in place for family members who want to gain skills away from the farm should also be considered.

“I think that it’s very important to go elsewhere and find work, if that’s an option to do … just to kind of pave your own path and and then return to the farm when the time is right,” he said.

English admits that succession planning gets pushed aside among his family as well.

“It shouldn’t just be a once a year, have a half-an-hour meeting about succession or what the next year might look like,” said English. “It needs to be talked about a little bit more often.”

This leads to what he says is the biggest jump when it comes to succession planning: the family conversations.

As for his two young boys, English says he wants a process set for when his kids are of age and if they have an interest in the farm. If they don’t wish to farm, that’s fine too.

“There’s no force in it … but if they have a love like I do for a business like this, I want to be in a position where we have processes set up for them to be able to succeed entering the industry.”

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The Canadian Food Inspection Agency said in an email on April 8 that new admissibility requirements for commodities originating from Greece have been set up in CFIA’s Automated Import Reference System (AIRS).

WHY IT MATTERS: Data from Greece’s tourism industry show over 300,000 arrivals in that country from Canada in 2024 alone.

According to the World Organization for Animal Health, Greece began reporting cases of foot-and-mouth disease on March 15 with nine infected cattle at a farm on the island of Lesvos, marking the country’s first such cases since 1994. Its most recent cases, in sheep and one cow on the same island, were reported March 29.

Greece’s cases so far have all occurred on farms in the northern regions of that island, in the Aegean Sea off the west coast of Turkey. So far, 438 animals in total have been confirmed infected.

The findings make Greece the fifth European Union member country currently under foot-and-mouth restrictions from Canada. Hungary, Slovakia and Cyprus all reported cases last year, while Bulgaria is the lone EU member country “not usually considered free” of foot-and-mouth disease.

Germany regained disease-free status last month, while CFIA’s restrictions on Austria were lifted last September.

While findings of the disease in Greece are so far limited to Lesvos, Canada’s new restrictions apply to the entire country, unlike certain other nations such as Brazil, Argentina and Peru in which CFIA classifies some but not all provinces or states as free of foot-and-mouth disease.

What products are prohibited?

At-risk commodities covered by Canada’s import ban include live animals and germplasm; animal products and byproducts; uncooked meat and meat products; raw milk and milk products made from raw milk, such as unpasteurized cheese; unprocessed manure; laboratory material; blood products; livestock feed and equipment that has been in contact with affected animals; raw or unprocessed pet foods; raw hides, skins, wool, antlers, horns, hooves; and any other non-heat-treated products or byproducts from vulnerable animal species.

Species vulnerable to foot-and-mouth disease include hogs, cattle, bison, sheep, goats, camelids (llamas, alpacas) and cervids (deer, elk, moose) among others.

CFIA’s restrictions apply to any at-risk products dating as far back as 28 days before the first symptoms were detected in an affected country.

Foot-and-mouth disease, according to CFIA, is a viral disease characterized by symptoms including blister-like sores on the tongue and lips, in the mouth, on the teats and between the hooves; foot lesions, accompanied by acute lameness and reluctance to move; and loss of appetite or milk production. The virus can spread between animals through direct, indirect or airborne transmission.

Canada is free of the disease and has not reported any cases of the disease in livestock since 1952, when an outbreak in southeastern Saskatchewan is believed to have originated with a visitor from an infected farm in Germany, carrying the virus either on clothes or an infected sausage.

Advice for farmers visiting Greece

Canadians are still free to travel to Greece, but CFIA recommends they avoid visiting farms when doing so. Travellers who do visit farms should make sure clothes and footwear worn during those visits are free from soil or manure. Footwear should be cleaned and disinfected, and dry-cleaning of the clothes worn is recommended.

Travellers should also avoid contact with susceptible animals, including farm and zoo animals and wildlife, for 14 days after returning to Canada.

For farmers who travel to Greece, contact with farm animals is not recommended for five days upon return to Canada, when “strict personal decontamination measures” are applied to clothes and footwear, CFIA says.

Travellers also must declare all food products upon arrival in Canada. Generally, CFIA says, meat and dairy products from foot-and-mouth infected countries won’t be allowed, but foods that are “cooked, shelf-stable, commercially prepared and hermetically sealed” may be.

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At the end of March, the western Prairies prevailed in their ask for an emergency use exception for the rodent control product, which hasn’t been allowed in Canada since 2023. The Pest Management Regulatory Agency (PMRA) had initially denied the request earlier this year.

Now though, the PMRA has OK’d limited use of the product through November 2027, citing significant crop damage.

Producers push for strychnine access

One of the major patches of Saskatchewan approved for strychnine butts up against Manitoba. Producer groups note the pressure doesn’t stop because Saskatchewan does.

“I think it’s a positive step to ensure that producers have the tools they need to control issues such as Richardson’s ground squirrels and all the damage that they’re causing,” said Carson Callum, general manager of Manitoba Beef Producers.

Anecdotally, they’re becoming just as problematic in some parts of Manitoba as farther west, Callum added.

“Their damage doesn’t stop at the Saskatchewan border. They’re not aware of that invisible line.”

According to Callum, Manitoba producers and industry groups have been advocating for access to strychnine alongside their counterparts in Western Canada. The province, though, must be the one to file the request to the federal government. So far, that hasn’t happened.

Damage growing on farms

At the farm level, some producers say the damage is already severe. Jesse Nykoliation, who ranches near Lenore, lost 100 acres of canola due to damage from Richardson’s ground squirrels several years ago.

“I seeded 140 acres of canola, and 100 of it got ate by gophers,” he said. “And I re-seeded it and it got ate again.”

Other rodenticides and burrow fumigation have been costly and ineffective, he added.

“It does nothing,” Nykoliation said.

The issue is especially frustrating given Manitoba’s proximity to where the product is now allowed.

“It really upsets me that we’re only 45 minutes (away from) the border, and we’re losing so much to these gophers,” Nykoliation said.

Province urges due diligence

The province is taking a cautious approach and has not yet decided whether to seek an exemption, Agriculture Minister Ron Kostyshyn said.

“I think we have to do the due diligence about being cautionary of where this might be, and how it’s to be used.”

They’re talking with producer groups, Kostyshyn said, adding that education and oversight would be key if the product were to be considered.

It was first axed because of potential spillover damage down the food chain, including at-risk species like burrowing owls.

Manitoba has not seen the same level of infestation as some neighbouring provinces, particularly in drier regions, Kostyshyn maintained. He added the product has not been licensed in Manitoba for more than a decade.

Data points to Prairie-wide patterns

Richardson’s ground squirrel populations are strongly influenced by dry conditions and land characteristics.

A study published in 2012 in The Canadian Field-Naturalist found the animals were widespread across Saskatchewan’s agricultural region during a drought period from 2001 to 2009, with particularly high densities in the drier brown soil zone.

The research, based on fieldwork conducted in spring 2008, also found the species was present in all soil zones, though populations were generally lower in cooler or more moisture-rich areas.

Work supported by Manitoba Beef and Forage Initiatives has also identified Richardson’s ground squirrels as a management concern in the province, with research aimed at keeping populations in forage fields below economic threat levels.

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The post Manitoba cattle prices, April 8 appeared first on Manitoba Co-operator.

Genetic quality appeared to influence the market on a larger scale for feeders under 700 pounds. Medium to larger frame preconditioned calves appeared to trade steady to $10 higher on average but “run of the mill” bawlers were steady to $10 lower. If feeders had more risk on feed efficiencies or health, the market priced these cattle with appropriate discounts.

• For more livestock market content, visit the Western Producer Markets Desk

The TEAM market report included a group of 305 black steers with a mean weight of 1,000 pounds on barley, silage and supplement diet with full herd health records including implants sold for $455/cwt fob farm near Allan, Sask.

Northwest of Saskatoon, a pen-sized group of medium to larger frame mixed steers averaging 910 pounds, carrying various butter levels, on barley and silage diet with full processing records traded for $470 fob farm. South of Edmonton, a half-pen of larger frame Angus cross heifers on rolled barley and barley silage diet, with full processing and implants, averaging 875 pounds traded for $464 fob farm.

At the Ste. Rose auction, a smaller package of red mixed steers averaging 826 pounds traded for $507. At the same sale, a 10-pack of red and black heifers evaluated at 826 pounds sold for $459/cwt. In Ponoka, a group of eight lower flesh, 810-pound Simmental cross steers on barley and silage diet for two weeks, with full processing records traded for $525/cwt.

The Vermilion Livestock Exchange reported that five tan steers scaled at 723 pounds traded for $573/cwt. Fourteen tan heifers averaging 737 pounds dropped the gavel at $515/cwt.

The VJV report from Rimbey included a group of 14 mixed steer calves weighing 611 pound coming off a diet of cereal silage, chopped hay and oats, with full processing data were last bid at $655/cwt. In central Alberta, a producer reported at group of mixed weaned heifers averaging 620 pounds with full preconditioning records on silage and limited rolled barley exited the ring at $620/cwt.

• More livestock coverage: Beef industry warns research cuts will set sector back for decades

At the Vermilion sale, a six-pack of 550 pound tans steers traded for $734/cwt and 11 red-white-face 500 pound steers sold for $768/cwt.

At the Ste. Rose, Man. auction, a pair of red and black steers weighing 432 pounds silenced the crowd at $842/cwt. The volume of calves under 550 pounds was limited across the Prairies, which made the market hard to define.

Alberta packers were buying fed cattle on a live basis at $325/cwt fob feedlot in the Lethbridge area. The breakeven price on these finished cattle is around $355/cwt. This is the fifth consecutive month of negative margins for Alberta feedlots.

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A Canadian beef quality audit conducted 10 years ago pegged the annual cost at $61 million. But that figure did not account for hidden losses like reduced growth efficiency, increased feed costs and added carcass trim. Modelled against more recent U.S. research (Taylor et al. 2025), the real number could be closer to $250 million.

“The important thing was that most of the losses that were associated with that number were before slaughter. So these are your increased energy maintenance,” said Rob Gruninger of Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada at the Alberta Beef Producers’ annual beef research showcase at the University of Lethbridge.

“A pen that has 20 per cent animals with liver abscesses will have four per cent increased maintenance energy cattle with A-plus liver.”

The per-animal loss ranges from $11 to $275, depending on severity. A-plus livers — severely abscessed with multiple small abscesses — carry the heaviest penalty, while A-minus livers with one or two small abscesses reduce carcass weight by roughly 29 pounds.

The detection problem

One of the biggest challenges is that liver abscesses are nearly invisible until slaughter. Cattle rarely show clinical signs unless severely impaired, and ultrasounds have proven ineffective at capturing the entire liver. Researchers hope a blood-based test using gene expression will soon fill that gap.

“If there was a way to identify it earlier, better (feed) management decisions would be great,” said Gruninger. “The closest thing I’ve seen in data related to that is the beef-on-dairy. Those animals are on feed for an extra 100 days relative to an Angus cow, and you see significantly higher rates of abscesses.”

What drives the condition

Industry estimates put incidence rates at 10 to 30 per cent across North America, with Canada on the higher end. Steers are more susceptible than heifers. More days on feed and more digestible diets both raise the risk. Dairy cattle have higher rates than beef cattle, with summer months worse than winter. Diets heavy on wheat and barley produce higher rates than corn or sorghum, and silage outpaces hay.

“The currently accepted theory of how liver abscess is developed is that it’s related to acidosis, and so the consumption of highly fermentable diets results in the rapid production of volatile fatty acids,” said Gruninger. “The rumen is only able to absorb those acids at a certain rate. So if you’re producing more acid than the animal is able to use for growth, then the pH of the rumen is going to decrease.”

When pH drops far enough for long enough, the rumen wall can be damaged, allowing gut bacteria into the bloodstream — a condition known as ruminitis. Those bacteria travel through the portal vein to the liver, where they can colonize and form infections. Emerging research also points to hind gut acidosis and epithelial damage in the cecum and colon as another possible entry point.

The core bacteria found in abscessed livers are Fusobacterium and Bacteroides. Both exist in healthy livers too, but at lower levels — meaning the triggering factors, including diet, stress and days on feed, are what tip the balance.

Growing pressure on antibiotics

Tylosin is the primary feed additive used to reduce liver abscesses, cutting incidence by 30 to 35 per cent without affecting gain. But federal pressure to reduce antimicrobial use in livestock is mounting, and Gruninger stressed the industry needs alternatives in case Tylosin is eventually banned.

Current approaches — more fibre and forage, yeast products, direct-fed microbials, essential oils and a dated fusobacterium-specific vaccine — have shown inconsistent or inconclusive results.

Gruninger recommended reducing chronic pen overcrowding, avoiding disruptions during diet transitions, choosing grains carefully and managing days on feed — all in combination with Tylosin until a better option emerges.

“I think the most feasible would be, ‘Could we figure out how to make a vaccine that works well enough that is cost effective and makes sense to use’?” he said. “Maybe targeting more than just fusobacteria.”

Why the cost is likely climbing

With beef cattle being pushed to greater finishing weights and more days on feed in recent years, the economic impact has almost certainly grown. Producers in the audience hypothesized the real cost may be five times the figures from a decade ago.

“The goal of the research is can we find some other (effective) ways,” said Gruninger.

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