The Manitoba cattle market shows no signs of slowing down as December arrives.
More than 11,300 cattle went through the rings during the week ended Nov. 28, with lightweight feeder steers surpassing the $600 per hundredweight level at most sales.
Kirk Kiesman, general manager of Ashern Auction Mart, said cattle markets typically start to slow down by late October. This year, prices and cattle numbers continue to show unprecedented strength.
Read Also
Polycrops a winning practice for Manitoba ranch
Using diverse, multispecies forage crop mixtures to feed their beef herd has dramatically improved cattle health, rancher says
“It’s good for the producers,” he said. “We’ve seen ($5 to $10/cwt.) price jumps for four weeks in a row. Every week (prices are) getting stronger. I don’t think it’s going to happen forever, but I think there is good profitability for the cow-calf producer.”
The maximum price for feeder steers in Ashern at its regular sale Nov. 27 was $587.50/cwt., and just like other sites, most steer prices were up compared to the previous week. Ashern’s high price for a feeder steer was $558/cwt. on Nov. 20.
For feeder heifers, the high price exceeded $500/cwt. in Ashern on Nov. 27, but those in the heavier weight classes showed declines.
Heiferettes ranged from $160 to $276/cwt. during the week ended Nov. 28, compared to $160 to $230/cwt. one week earlier, while D1 and D2 slaughter cow prices were steady.
“It’s nice to see some of the profit the feedlots made on backgrounding on the calves from last year getting returned to the cow-calf guys,” Kiesman said. “Basically (400- to 750-pound cattle) are in high demand … The heifer trade is strong. Steers are strong. There’s nothing that’s not in good demand.”
Cattle futures were at their highest in months at the Chicago Mercantile Exchange during the week ended Nov. 27. The February live cattle contract reached US$188.600/cwt., up 67.5 cents from one week earlier. The contract surpassed the $190 mark two days earlier for the first time since Oct. 29.
The January feeder cattle contract gained $6.45/cwt. over the week to close at $258.775. On Oct. 27, the price reached $260/cwt. for the first time since July 8.
Kiesman said top-end cattle were sold to feedlots in Western and Eastern Canada. As the spread between steers and replacement heifers narrows and the Canadian cattle herd remains low, buyers and sellers are optimistic. He expects the cattle market to continue its current momentum for the rest of the year.
“Overall, guys sell at the set dates in their management plans. I don’t think we’re going to see too big of a shift from this year to the previous year in numbers. Producers who sell in December typically always sell in December,” Kiesman added.
“We’re going to have a few good sales and the market will be strong in the next couple of weeks.”
