Reading Time: < 1 minute MarketsFarm — Feed grain prices on the Prairies remain soft ahead of spring planting, due to quiet demand from feedlots. “Feedlots are full of grain right now,” Brandon Motz of CorNine Commodities at Lacombe, Alta. said, explaining that there’s currently a lot of grain in feeding pipelines. “Spring replacement into feedlots has been really slow.” […] Read more
Feed weekly outlook: Soft demand weighs on prices
Klassen: Calves remain firm while yearlings falter
Reading Time: 2 minutes Compared to last week, western Canadian yearling markets traded $3-$5 lower while calves and grassers traded within $5 on either side of unchanged. Calves were extremely variable with similar weight cattle sometimes trading $6-$8 apart at the same sale. Supplies of calves coming on the market appear to be lower than last year. This may […] Read more
Klassen: Calf prices divorce from yearling markets
Reading Time: 2 minutes Compared to last week, yearling prices were steady to as much as $4 lower depending on the region in Western Canada. Alberta packers were buying fed cattle at an average price of $252 on a dressed basis, down $6-$8 from last week and down about $20 from the last week of January. Weakness in fed […] Read more
Feed weekly outlook: Bids pressured by lower demand
Reading Time: < 1 minute MarketsFarm — Feed grain prices have remained soft, as feedlots in Western Canada are covered for the foreseeable future. Last week, prices for feed barley and feed wheat delivered in Lethbridge were around $230 per tonne, but have come down by about $10 since then, according to Allan Pirness of Market Place Commodities. While these […] Read more
Klassen: Uncertain beef demand weighs on feeder market
Reading Time: 2 minutes Compared to last week, western Canadian prices for yearling and heavier calves were down $2-$4 on average. The calf market was hard to define; Alberta markets traded $3 lower to $4 higher but notable strength was evident in Saskatchewan and Manitoba where values were steady to $4 higher. Favourable weather contributed to higher auction market […] Read more
Feed weekly outlook: Buyers not looking to make purchases
Reading Time: < 1 minute MarketsFarm — Feed grain prices were beginning to soften as many buyers don’t have a major need to purchase from growers, said Nelson Neumann, senior trader for Agfinity in Stony Plain, Alta. “There’s still obviously a demand, but buyers are pretty well covered for the February-March timeframe. That’s a window where a lot of growers […] Read more
Klassen: Feeder market remains under pressure
Reading Time: 2 minutes Compared to last week, western Canadian feeder cattle prices were steady to $3 lower in Alberta while prices eroded by $2-$5 in Saskatchewan and Manitoba. Noticeable weakness was evident in yearling prices, while grass cattle experienced limited slippage. Backgrounding operators are starting to liquidate fall-placed calves. Quality was quite variable, with fleshier cattle experiencing sharper […] Read more
Feed weekly outlook: Rally likely to end soon
Reading Time: < 1 minute MarketsFarm — After a bit of a rally for feed grain prices over the last three to four weeks, the feedlots are on the full side, said Brandon Motz of CorNine Commodities at Lacombe, Alta. “That normally means we back off a little bit,” he said, noting there hasn’t been an uptick in deliveries with […] Read more
Klassen: Feeder market lacks buying interest
Reading Time: 2 minutes 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
Feed weekly outlook: Temperatures rise, Prairie bids cool down
Reading Time: < 1 minute MarketsFarm — Feed grain bids in southern Alberta are cooling down as temperatures warm up after a bitter cold spell earlier in the month. After dealing with temperatures in the -20 C to -34 C range over much of the week ended Jan. 17, conditions in the key Lethbridge feeding area have flipped the other […] Read more
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