With cattle auctions in full swing across the province, markets have seen steady, strong prices.

Brock Taylor of Pipestone Auction Mart said 600- to 700-lb. feeder steers were between $188 and $215 per hundredweight at auction last week. That’s comparable to the Nov. 8 auction, when the same class of cattle sold for between $190 and $217.

Similarly, 600- to 700-lb. feeder heifers were between $165 and $179/cwt at both the Nov. 15 auction and the week prior.

Demand for Manitoba cattle is coming from the west. However, supply chain issues with feed grains have caused a bit of a bottleneck for producers. Freight for hauling purchased grain from Saskatchewan to Alberta has been challenging to come by, and feedlots are at high capacity.

Demand has been “very quiet” from the south, but a weakening Canadian dollar could make Manitoba cattle more appealing to buyers in the United States. The Canadian dollar dropped by approximately half a cent between Nov. 15 and 21.

Despite snow and icy weather midway through the week, cattle volumes remained high, with approximately 9,000 head moving through auctions.

Chicago December live cattle futures were at 119.325 U.S. cents/lb. on Nov. 21, up a quarter of a cent from the week prior.