March 22 — Feeder cattle prices in Western Canada appear to be consolidating. Auction market volumes are 10 to 15 per cent above last year, reflecting the burdensome supply situation. Alberta and Saskatchewan feedlot placements during February were up 19 per cent over last year; however, marketings were down nine per cent in comparison to […] Read more
Klassen: Feeder cattle prices consolidate
Who’s Making Money On Beef?
Aside from raising purebred Herefords, northwestern Ontario beef producer Kimmie Jo Bliss, loves taking photos. At left, are two photos of her niece, Maddie, tending a fairly new calf, while at right, part of the herd watches from the trees. Bliss, operates KJB Herefords at Emo in the Rainy River District of Ontario, which is […] Read more
Klassen: Feeders gain support
March 12 — Stronger fed cattle prices and improving feedlot margins continue to support Canadian feeder cattle prices. While the Canadian dollar continues to gain on the U.S. greenback, Canadian feeder cattle exports are starting to improve. Unofficial data has weekly February feeder cattle exports averaging 6,000 head per week, up from the lows of […] Read more
Klassen: Feeder prices grind lower
March 8 — Cash feeder prices in Western Canada have been grinding lower over the past week despite stronger demand from the feedlot sector. The market continues to struggle due to the strength in the Canadian dollar and slower export pace. However, exports should start to pick up later in March as the U.S. market […] Read more
Auction Mart Not The Only Option
Cow-calf producers often feel they are at the mercy of the market. Most producers execute the same strategy year after year and feel like they have no choices in marketing or pricing their calves. However, I’ve explained to many ranchers that they actually have the most opportunities and overall time in the beef industry. Cow-calf […] Read more
Klassen: Slow exports still weigh on feeder prices
March 1 — Western Canadian feeder cattle prices remain under pressure despite strength in the slaughter cattle market. Alberta and Saskatchewan auction market volumes are running 10-12 per cent above last year’s, but with the slower export pace, supplies will remain above year ago levels into April. As of Jan. 1, there were an additional […] Read more
Cattle Prices Edging Higher
1 1 U. S. QUARTERLY BEEF PRODUCTION (MILLION POUNDS) U. S. QUARTERLY BEEF PRODUCTION (MILLION POUNDS) % CHANGE 2010 FROM 2009 % CHANGE 2010 FROM 2009 2 3 4 2 3 4 2008 6372 6899 6908 6382 2008 6024 5593 5632 6098 2009 6248 6602 6689 6424 2009 5811 5488 5698 6055 2010 6185 6490 […] Read more
Klassen: Larger feeder supplies temper price strength
Feb. 22 — Statistics Canada’s Jan. 1 cattle inventory report was viewed as friendly to the cattle complex due to the lower overall inventory; however, the feeder cattle numbers were actually price-negative. The 2009 calf crop was estimated at 5.11 million head, down marginally from 5.288 million head in 2008. This was largely anticipated by […] Read more
Klassen: U.S. weather strengthens feeder market
Feb. 15 — The 2008 Canadian calf crop was 5.288 million head. The January-through-June 2009 calf crop was 4.402 million. My projections have the July-through-December 2009 calf crop at 700,000 head. (Official data will be available later this month.) If we account for dairy retention, Canadian beef calves born from June through December 2009 are […] Read more
Factors Affecting Beef Demand
The cattle market is unique when it comes to analyzing the fundamental structure. Unlike other commodity markets, regular supply and demand relationships don’t hold water in the cattle complex. For example, feeder cattle prices were at 10-year lows this past fall and yet the U. S. calf crop was the lowest since 1949. Price forecasting […] Read more