As the end of the year approached, there were few changes in prices at the Ashern Auction Mart on Dec. 11, and manager Kirk Kiesman said movement depended on animal weight.
“I would say on the lighter cattle, probably steady to a touch softer in places,” Kiesman said about prices, chalking that up to inclement weather and quality issues among cattle sold.
In particular on Dec. 11, the 300-400 pound feeder cattle saw steers go for $481 to $590 per hundredweight versus the $450 to $612.50 they fetched a week earlier. Heifers sold this week for $366 to $490/cwt. compared to $402 to $495 at Ashern’s Dec. 4 auction.
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“We had some really good heavier cattle this week and they sold about five cents (per pound) stronger than last week,” Kiesman said.
Among the 700-800 lb. feeders, steers garnered $305 to $424/cwt. on Dec 11 compared to $335 to $417 at Ashern’s previous auction. The heifers brought $279 to $350/cwt. week compared to $315 to $330 on Dec. 4.
In slaughter cattle, there were no price changes for D1-D2 cows, holding at $165 to $182/cwt., while the D3-D5s nudged up to $150 to $160 compared to the $140 to $155 on Dec. 4.
Prices for mature bulls improved at $183 to $220/cwt. on Dec. 11, from $174 to $211.50, and heiferettes sold for $183 to $283 versus $190 to $260 on Dec. 4.
Kiesman said the most important influence on the market was “the tax money being in play right now,” and year-end positioning was another feature.
He said ranchers have difficulty replenishing herds because high prices encourage them to sell more cattle than they normally would .
“It’s been hard to get inventory with the shortage of feeder cattle that are out there. Guys want to have a certain amount of stuff in the pens and in order to get that, costs quite a bit of money.”
Manitoba’s cattle auctions are closing for the Christmas break. Ashern’s final sale of 2024 is Dec. 18.
Elsewhere, Killarney’s last sale was scheduled Dec. 16 and Grunthal and Brandon wrapped things up Dec. 17, followed by Virden on Dec. 18, and Winnipeg on Dec. 13 and 20. Gladstone finished off 2024 at its Dec. 10 sale, as did Ste. Rose on Dec. 12.
