Klassen: Positive fed outlook buoys feeder market

Klassen: Positive fed outlook buoys feeder market

Market telling producers to own lighter cattle sooner rather than later

Reading Time: 2 minutes Western Canadian feeder cattle prices for 800-pound plus cattle were $2/cwt to $4/cwt higher on average for the week ending January 27. Feeders in the 500-800-pound category were up $3/cwt to $6/cwt with higher quality groups up as much as $10/cwt in some cases. Feeders 500 pounds and lower were unchanged from seven days earlier.

CME live cattle LEJ24 on Jan. 29 with Bollinger bands. (Barchart)

U.S. livestock: CME cattle futures ease on profit-taking after 2-1/2-month peak

Lean hog futures ended modestly higher; firm cash hog prices lent support

Reading Time: < 1 minute CME April live cattle futures LCJ24 settled down 0.450 cent at 181.225 cents per pound, retreating after rising to 183.450 cents, the contract's highest point since Nov. 7. Last week's firm cash cattle prices and technical buying underpinned the market, traders said.


(Photo courtesy Canada Beef Inc.)

CCA disappointed, not surprised by breakdown in trade talks

Yesterday, federal officials said bilateral negotiations with the UK had been paused amid unhappiness on both sides

Reading Time: 2 minutes The Canadian Cattle Association says it's disappointed but not surprised by the UK's decision to pause talks on its free trade deal with Canada. “CCA has been following the bilateral negotiations closely and has been concerned at the lack of ambition and cooperation from the UK in these negotiations," said Nathan Phinney, the CCA's president, in a news release late yesterday.




In early December, the Saskatchewan River was at its second lowest level in the past 23 years.   Photo: Alex McCuaig

Alberta expands livestock drought recovery supports

Only a narrow band of the province remains exempt from the aid program

Reading Time: 2 minutes The 2023 Canada-Alberta Drought Livestock Assistance initiative, funded through the AgriRecovery framework by the federal and provincial governments, offers payments of up to $150 per head to livestock producers who have 15 or more animals per type of livestock, and have altered usual grazing practices for more than 21 days due to drought.


(WPohlDesign/iStock/Getty Images)

Klassen: Feeder market holds value despite negative margins

U.S. demand limited with colder temperatures in Midwest

Reading Time: 2 minutes Calf markets appeared to trade $2 to $3 above week-ago levels on average. Feedlot margins on current pen close-outs are negative $300 to $350 per head but replacement markets haven’t missed a beat. Finishing feedlots were once again bidding aggressively on backgrounded cattle with fleshier types experiencing limited slippage. Larger pen sized groups were on the higher end of the priced spectrum with buyers avoiding smaller packages.

Photo: File

Beef marks GHG drop: report 

Assessment reveals industry has reduced emissions by 15 per cent 

Reading Time: 2 minutes Producing a kilogram of boneless beef cuts today involves 15 per cent fewer greenhouse gas emissions than in 2014, according to the recently released National Beef Sustainability Assessment (NBSA) and Strategy report.