Analyzing the cattle-on-feed reports

Analyzing the cattle-on-feed reports

Market Update with Jerry Klassen: What looks like bearish news is sometimes the opposite


The Alberta and Saskatchewan cattle-on-feed reports can provide valuable information for cow-calf producers and backgrounding operators. Finishing feedlots often pay attention to the main numbers in the cattle-on-feed reports but fail to look at fine details such as the feeder cattle placements by weight category. In some cases, media reports suggest the report is bearish […] Read more



(Photo courtesy Canada Beef Inc.)

Klassen: Feeder market lacks buying interest

Compared to last week, western Canadian feeder cattle markets traded $2-$5 lower on average. Values in Alberta were relatively unchanged but markets in the eastern Prairie regions appeared to trade $4 to as much as $6 below week-ago levels. Alberta yearlings were relatively unchanged, but noticeable slippage was noted in the non-major feeding regions. Feedlots […] Read more







(Photo courtesy Canada Beef Inc.)

Klassen: Feeder market remains firm

Feeder cattle markets experienced light volumes during the final week of December and prices were relatively unchanged compared to week-ago levels. Yearling values were slightly softer, as these cattle will not have enough time to be ready for the April fed market. Buying interest for mid-weight categories was characterized as sluggish, while light-weight bawlers were […] Read more


In southern Alberta, Simmental based steers weighing 510 pounds were quoted at $230 in mid-November while black heifers were valued at $195. It’s looking like feast-or-famine beef production in early 2020.

Calf prices will be sideways into 2020

Market Update with Jerry Klassen: Both the U.S. and Canada produced smaller calf crops in 2019

Alberta packers were paying $142 to $144 on a live basis in mid-November, relatively unchanged from last month’s average price. While Alberta prices have traded in a sideways range, fed cattle values south of the border have been percolating higher. In Nebraska, fed cattle were trading in the range of $114 to $116, up from […] Read more