Manitoba cattle auctions were a mixed bag for the short pre-Easter week ending April 6, with some closed and others having regular sales. It will be a similar situation the following week, all leading to a noticeable decline in the number of cattle coming to auction.
“We are starting to see numbers dropping off. We had a light run this week. We’ll probably have a bigger run next week,” said Gladstone Auction Mart auctioneer Tyler Slawinski.
Gladstone’s April 4 sale attracted 233 head, compared to 792 on March 28.
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Auctions also went ahead at Winnipeg (March 31), Killarney (April 3), Grunthal (April 4), Brandon (April 4) and Virden (April 5).
Sales at Taylor, Ashern and Ste. Rose were postponed to April 10, 12 and 13 respectively. Winnipeg was closed April 7 for Good Friday, Killarney didn’t have a sale April 10, and Brandon was closed April 11 for maintenance.
Slawinski said the drop in number of cattle coming to auction hasn’t hurt prices; rather, they have increased after remaining steady for the last four weeks.
Most notable at Gladstone on April 4 were upticks in light feeder steers. The 300- to 400-pounders nudged up, from $350-$381 per hundredweight on March 28 to $364-$388 a week later. Also, 400- to 500-pounders increased from $340-$370/cwt. to $356-$380.
That said, some prices held steady at Gladstone. For example the 600- to-700-lb. feeder heifers remained at $252-$280/cwt. Slaughter bulls stayed at $124-$148/cwt., as did cows at $118-$132.50/cwt.
One of the factors supporting cattle prices has been a dip in corn futures on the Chicago Board of Trade.
“That’s going to drive fed cattle up a little bit more,” Slawinski said, noting kill plants have been keeping a steady pace.
Prices for cattle in Manitoba have reached new highs, he added.
“These are all new levels to us. I’m sure we’ve surpassed the 2014 and 2015 highs already. This is all uncharted waters for us, but everybody is grateful about it.”
However, he stressed there’s a dark side to the prices producers have been receiving.
“It’s obvious that the cattle herds in the United States and Canada are probably at all-time lows,” Slawinski said. “It’s the cattle we see come to town every week that are leaving the industry for good, not being replaced.”
While the clouds over the cattle industry are getting darker, he also pointed to a plus in the short term.
“I think there’s quite a number of heifers not marketed yet or will be. There’s hope there’s going to be quite a few heifers bred for reproduction.”
