All eight of Manitoba’s cattle auction sites hosted regular sales for the first time in months during the week ended Sept. 16.
Killarney Auction Mart was the last holdout in the province until it held its first sale of the fall run on Sept. 12, nearly three months after the start of the summer break. Including 516 head of cattle going through the rings there, a total of 3,767 feeder and butcher cattle were sold across the province during the week.
Allan Munroe, general manager of Killarney Auction Mart, was excited to get the sales back up and running, especially with higher prices.
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“We had a lot of yearling heifers on offer. They were very strong,” he said. “It’s fun again.”
Feeder prices were higher overall compared to the previous week. Both Killarney and Gladstone, the only two sites which did not host a sale the previous week, had steers which sold for more than $300 per hundredweight. The maximum feeder heifer price was $250/cwt compared to $247 the week before.
“The prices have gone up significantly since spring. We’re looking at ($50/cwt) better than last fall. It’s a lot more positive,” Munroe said, adding there is a lot more feed available compared to last year.
“We’re looking at a smaller calf herd all across North America and it looks like we’re starting to climb back towards the top of the cattle cycle again — very limited supply coming down the chain and strong demand on beef.”
On the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME), the October live cattle contract closed at US$145.625/cwt on Sept. 15, close to the four-month high of US$146.25 set on Aug. 17. Meanwhile, the October feeder cattle contract closed at US$180.925/cwt. The contract hasn’t closed a session below US$180/cwt since July 11.
Munroe mentioned there is some interest in cattle from all directions, but he doesn’t know where prices could go in the next week or so.
“(Prices) are very strong and they’re going to stay strong,” he said.
Manitoba Beef Producers (MBP) has announced the dates and locations of its 2022 district meetings. All odd-numbered districts will have in-person meetings this year to go with a virtual online meeting available for producers from all districts.
The first meeting will take place Oct. 19 for District 9 producers at the South Interlake Rockwood Agricultural Society (Red Barn) south of Stonewall, followed by a District 11 meeting at the Royal Canadian Legion branch in Ashern on Oct. 20.
District 13 producers will meet on the upper floor of the Rotary Arena in Dauphin on Oct. 24 and the District 7 meeting will take place at Miniota Community Centre on Oct. 25. The District 3 meeting will be held Nov. 1 inside the Carman Legion Auxiliary Hall and District 5 producers will meet at the Austin Community Hall on Nov. 2. The Mountview Centre in Deloraine will host District 1 producers on Nov. 3.
All in-person meetings will start at 4 p.m. followed by a break and beef supper at around 5:15 p.m. At 6:15 p.m., presentations and director elections will take place as well as votes on resolutions and action items.
The virtual meeting will be on Nov. 7 at 7 p.m. To register for any of the district meetings, log onto the Manitoba Beef Producers website at: mbbeef.ca/our-news/2022-district-meetings.
