The fall run is in full swing and the number of cattle heading to Manitoba’s eight livestock auctions continues to increase.
“It’s going to be as busy as it ever is,” said Allan Munroe of Killarney Auction Mart, which had a sale Sept. 19 with 1,120 head. That’s up from 516 the previous week.
Overall, there were 6,198 cattle auctioned in Manitoba during the week of Sept. 16-22, jumping 58 per cent from the week before. The Grunthal Livestock Auction Mart Ltd. easily saw the largest increase, going from 78 head for its Sept. 13 sale to 1,493 on Sept. 20. Other increases included:
- Ashern Auction Mart, from 178 to 437;
- Gladstone increasing from 269 to 461;
- Ste. Rose Auction Mart from 609 to 1,011; and
- Winnipeg Livestock Sales, from 210 to 625.
There were two outliers, with Heartland Livestock Services at Brandon selling fewer cattle than the previous week – 616 compared to 1,394, and Virden slipping from 516 to 360.
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Munroe said he’s expecting fall run numbers to be bigger than in previous years as producers send more cattle.
“I think they will dig a little deeper and sell more in the fall to capture some of the dollars available.”
Munroe added there will be more calves headed to auction throughout the fall run and more yearlings will come in as well over the next few weeks. Some would normally be held back toward the end of the fall run or even until winter.
As for prices, he said they are very good. Two of the most notable price increases came with feeder steers. At Killarney’s Sept. 12 sale, 400- to 500-pounders went for $252-$301 per hundredweight; that group rose to $270-$320 per cwt. during the Sept. 19 auction.
Also, 800- to 900-pounders sold for $210-$228 the previous week, increasing to $220-$250 this week. In other weight classes of feeder steers and heifers, prices either held firm or dipped slightly.
However, dark clouds are gathering over the cattle market, as prices this week at the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) took a hit. A report stressed that concerns over a global economic recession were the driving factor.
The October live cattle contract lost US1.025 cents on the week, settling at 144.85 cents per lb. The December contract dropped 1.4 cents to close at 149.35, with both contracts under their 50-day moving averages. Feeder cattle at CME took a bigger hit, with the November contract giving up US2.275 cents at 178.05 cents per lb.
