It was a quiet week at Manitoba cattle auction sites during the week ended Dec. 19.
All but one of them hosted their final regular sale of 2024 and none of those sales surpassed 1,000 head sold at any site. Winnipeg Livestock Sales will close for the holidays after its Dec. 20 sale. None of the sales during the week surpassed 1,000 cattle sold.
Brennin Jack, general manager at Heartland Livestock Services in Virden, where 736 cattle went through the rings on Dec. 18, said the number was higher than expected for this time of year.
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“There’s a lot of income tax dollars floating around this time of year. So we’ve seen a lot of that happen where farmer spend some tax dollars and get some cattle bought before year-end,” Jack said.
High prices for feeder steers ranged from $515 to $645 per hundredweight, while those for heifers were $471 to $588/cwt. D1 and D2 slaughter cows were sold from $155 to $185/cwt., while mature bulls were worth between $155 to $219/cwt. Heiferettes ranged from $190 to $280/cwt.
“The market was very strong. Historically, those prices are a little bit softer this time of year, but they were very, very strong,” Jack said.
At the Chicago Mercantile Exchange, the February live cattle contract had a weeklong drop of US$4.30/cwt. to close at US$186.350 on Dec. 19. The January feeder cattle contract was down US$3.875/cwt., ending the week at US$254.475.
Jack called 2024 “one for the record books” as far as cattle prices were concerned. He believes prices will continue to stay strong when auction sites re-open, but there may be fewer cattle for sale.
“The prices definitely drew out some cattle that normally would’ve been kept for 2025. So it will be interesting how the numbers shake out for 2025,” he added.
Manitoba Beef Producers will host its annual general meeting at the Victoria Inn Hotel and Conference Centre in Winnipeg on Feb. 20 and 21, 2025.
The first evening of the AGM will include the President’s Banquet with award presentations, recognition of retiring board members, and entertainment. The rest of the AGM consists of panel discussions, a resolutions debate, and a trade show.
The agenda and resolutions for the AGM will be revealed next month.
