Cattle auction sites across Manitoba had large numbers go through the rings during the week ended April 18, right before the perennial spring slowdown.
In total, 10,802 cattle were sold, approximately 2,000 more than the previous week, including 3,111 at Heartland Livestock Services in Virden. Brennin Jack, the auction site’s general manager, said there was plenty of demand for slaughter and grass cattle at its regular sale April 17.
“(Producers) are thinking about getting cows out to pasture soon and to get them bred … Because this market is so strong, it doesn’t pay to have any open cows,” he said.
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Manitoba cattle prices, Nov. 4
Manitoba cattle sale prices for the week of Oct. 28 to Nov. 4, 2025.
Prices for 400- to 900-pound feeder steers ranged from $270 to $515 per hundredweight compared to $290 to $515/cwt. the previous week. Prices for feeder heifers ranged from $210 to $450/cwt., $28 less on the lower end than last week.
D1 and D2 slaughter cows ranged from $145 to $177/cwt., an additional $5 to the higher end from the previous week. Mature bulls were $155 to $217/cwt. compared to $155 to $212 the week before. Heiferettes cut off $16 from the higher end of last week’s prices at $130 to $225.
“(There was) good demand. The market would’ve even been stronger but the futures have come back quite a bit. It made some people pull in the reins quite a bit, but other than that, things look really, really good,” Jack said.
Cattle futures at the Chicago Mercantile Exchange fell to three-month lows before rebounding. The June live cattle contract dropped to US$170.250/cwt. on April 12, its lowest level since Jan. 9, before ending the week at $175.375, a gain of $1.475 from seven days earlier.
The May feeder cattle contract rose $4.45/cwt. to close the week at $242.550, but not before falling to $232.625 on April 12 for its lowest price since Dec. 26, 2023.
Jack said 30 per cent of cattle sold in Manitoba were staying local, while another 30 per cent were going to Western Canada and 40 per cent heading east. He believes prices will stay the same for the rest of the month.
“Some of the normal trade that goes on closer to grass, lots of it is already done. Locals already have the cattle bought. I think volume is going to shrink considerably over the next couple of weeks.”
The U.S. Department of Agriculture announced April 9 it will discontinue its July cattle inventory report, claiming budget cuts. As a result, it will only release one cattle report every January. County estimates for crops and livestock as well as a cotton yield survey will also be cut starting in 2024-25.
