Photo: Canada Beef

Klassen: Feeder market to start 2023 on firm tone

Counter-seasonal behaviour expected

Reading Time: 2 minutes There were no market reports last week due to the holiday season; however, I still received a few calls from cattle producers regarding the feeder market outlook for the first quarter of 2023. The feeder market finished 2022 at 52-week highs. Steers averaging 500 lbs. were readily trading over the psychological $300 level while 900-lb. […] Read more

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Prairie cash wheat: Bids lower despite supportive factors

March CBOT, K.C. wheats up on week

Reading Time: 2 minutes MarketsFarm — Despite concerns related to cold weather in the U.S., war in Ukraine and rising numbers of COVID-19 infections in China, most western Canadian wheat bids were lower for the week ended Thursday. Profit-taking in wheat futures was evident on the Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT), as March contracts for both Kansas City hard […] Read more


Grain bins in a Saskatchewan field. (MysticEnergy/iStock/Getty Images)

Feed weekly outlook: Grain, price movement ongoing over holidays

Colder weather stymies deliveries

Reading Time: 2 minutes MarketsFarm — With the Christmas break come and gone, more grain is being delivered to feedlots, according to one Lethbridge trader. Mike Fleischhauer of Eagle Commodities Ltd. said that despite the holiday season, in which lighter activity is expected, there was still some movement in feed grain prices. Wheat and barley were both valued at […] Read more

CME April 2023 live cattle with 20-, 50- and 100-day moving averages. (Barchart)

Klassen: Historically high deferred live cattle futures support feeder complex

Reading Time: 2 minutes Compared to last week, western Canadian feeder cattle markets traded $2 lower to $4 higher on average. Many auction barns were on holidays last week; therefore, the buying interest appeared to be more concentrated on the major markets. There were no reports from Manitoba last week. Alberta packers were buying fed cattle on a dressed […] Read more


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Prairie cash wheat: Bids mostly higher

U.S. wheat futures up on week

Reading Time: 2 minutes MarketsFarm — Spring wheat bids in Western Canada saw some mixed activity during the week ended Thursday (Dec. 22), with small losses reported for red spring wheat in Manitoba, while prices were up in Alberta and Saskatchewan. Average Canada Western Red Spring (CWRS, 13.5 per cent protein) wheat prices were down by 30-40 cents in […] Read more

Vehicles are shown wrecked along the Highway 401/402 corridor near London, Ont. on Dec. 23, 2022. (Ontario Provincial Police photo via Twitter)

Winter storm causes havoc across Canada

Alberta ranchers shelter cattle against winds

Reading Time: 2 minutes Ottawa/Winnipeg | Reuters — Strong winds, freezing rain and heavy snowfall closed schools, cut power to homes and cancelled flights across Canada on Friday as a powerful winter storm swept across the country, prompting authorities to warn people to stay indoors ahead of worsening conditions. The storm is connected to the same freezing weather system […] Read more


Barley. (Photo courtesy Canada Beef Inc.)

Feed weekly outlook: Alberta barley bids steady heading into holidays

Reading Time: < 1 minute MarketsFarm — The Lethbridge feed grain market is holding relatively steady heading into the holiday season, with ample imports of corn from the U.S. keeping a lid on prices. Reports out of Alberta’s feedlot alley peg the upper edge of delivered barley bids in the $430-$435 area, with feed wheat seeing similar prices. Feedlots are […] Read more

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Prairie cash wheat: Prices a mixed bag across West

U.S. wheat futures down on week

Reading Time: 2 minutes MarketsFarm — Wheat prices on the Canadian Prairies for the week ended Thursday were mixed as CWRS wheat was either side of unchanged and CPSR was down slightly. Meanwhile, durum made modest gains. Declines in the U.S. wheat complex put pressure on western Canadian cash prices, but those declines were countered by a weaker Canadian […] Read more


(Photo courtesy Canada Beef Inc.)

Feed weekly outlook: Barley, wheat prices pull back

Truck shortage 'hasn't gotten any better'

Reading Time: < 1 minute MarketsFarm — Prices for feed barley and wheat are coming down on the Prairies, said Susanne Leclerc of Market Master Ltd. in Edmonton — and a big part of that trend is the lack of demand for either commodity. “Buyers are fairly well covered. There seems to be a lack of desire for buyers to […] Read more

CME August 2023 live cattle with 20-, 50- and 100-day moving averages. (Barchart)

Klassen: Stronger deferred live cattle support feeder market

Cow-calf operators seen hesitant to expand

Reading Time: 2 minutes Compared to last week, western Canadian yearling markets traded $2-$3 on either side of unchanged. Calf prices were mostly unchanged compared to seven days earlier; however, there were pockets where buyers reported prices up $2-$3 on average. The Alberta calf market appeared to stage a minor recovery after softening over the past month. Manitoba markets […] Read more