Only four auction sites in Manitoba saw cattle go through the rings during the week ending July 13. For at least one, prices and demand are still rising.
Winnipeg Livestock Sales held its bi-weekly sale July 7. Feeder steers weighing more than 700 lb. sold for as much as $315 per hundredweight. Heifers weighing more than 500 lb. also surpassed the $300/cwt. mark. On the slaughter side, D1 and D2 cows ranged in price from $132 to $148/cwt., while mature bulls sold for $158 to $166/cwt.
Scott Anderson, a field representative for the auction site, said the 280 feeder and butcher cattle sold made up a higher number than usually seen in the summer and demand has been “excellent.”
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“It was only (55) feeder cattle and the rest were butcher cattle. The cows managed to hold together and the bulls were off a little bit, but they may have been a little bit higher the sale before,” he said.
While cattle prices continue to be exceptional, Anderson knows they can’t last forever.
“It can only get so high before there’s some sort of equilibrium check,” he said. “Whether we’re getting close to that or not, it’s hard to say. We’ll certainly know more once we get to see some more numbers just on how aggressive feedlots are to want to own more cattle.
“It seems like whatever you buy one week seems cheap the next week. Even if (prices) stay here, it’s fantastic.”
Anderson said most cattle being sold are going to other parts of Western Canada, but warned that could change “in two weeks or even one week.”
On the Chicago Mercantile Exchange, the August live cattle contract reached an all-time high on July 12 at US$181.175/cwt. The next day’s close was $176.90/cwt., an increase of $2.325 from one week earlier.
The August feeder cattle contract also rose to unprecedented levels on July 12 to $251.30/cwt., before ending the week at $245/cwt. for a weekly gain of $2.725.
The rising cost of feed grains due to ongoing dry weather across Western Canada and the U.S. Midwest are also having effects on cattle prices. As of June 30, south-central Manitoba was in moderate or severe drought, while the southwest and southeast corners of the province were abnormally dry, according to Environment and Climate Change Canada’s Canadian Drought Monitor.
Anderson said he has heard from cattle producers that hay and pasture conditions have been “sporadic” so far this summer. The province’s crop report, released July 11, said hay yields were “highly variable” and pasture conditions were “declining” and in need of significant rain.
“Most guys would say it’s not great, but a lot of guys would probably call it good to fair,” said Anderson. “(There are) no disasters, but it’s certainly not lush.”
Despite the higher-than-normal number of cattle being sold for auction recently, the summer remains a down period. For Anderson and Winnipeg Livestock Sales, it’s business as usual.
“Hopefully, we can get buyers lined up when it comes time for the cattle to start moving and put smiles on the producers’ faces,” he said.
