Reading Time: 11 minutes “Let’s get naked.” It’s not a phrase you expect (or probably want) to hear from a group of Alberta feedlot owners. But then again, you may never have met the five individuals who make up the Allied Marketing Group (AMG) in southern Alberta. Getting naked is their cheeky way of telling Country Guide how, metaphorically […] Read more
All for one
This innovative group of Alberta feedlot owners is redefining how to win by acting together
U.S. livestock: Live cattle hit contract highs on weather woes
Reading Time: < 1 minute Chicago | Reuters — Chicago Mercantile Exchange live cattle futures rose Tuesday, with the benchmark June contract hitting a high as poor feedlot conditions in portions of the U.S. Plains raised concerns about beef supplies, traders said. Lean hogs closed lower in a profit-taking setback from contract highs set a day earlier. Fat cattle futures […] Read more
Klassen: Feeder market continues consolidation pattern
Reading Time: 2 minutes Compared to last week, western Canadian feeder cattle markets traded $3-$5 on either side of unchanged. The market was quite variable across the Prairies. Demand from south of the border evaporated due to adverse weather while southern Alberta experienced favourable spring conditions. Alberta packers were buying fed cattle at $260 on a dressed basis, up […] Read more
Klassen: Feeder market holds value
Reading Time: 2 minutes Western Canadian feeder cattle prices were relatively unchanged compared to seven days earlier. Buying interest for yearlings was somewhat stronger while calves in the eastern Prairie regions were softer. Moderate temperatures are in the seven-day forecast for most of Western Canada, so the risk discount due to adverse weather has evaporated. Barley jumped an additional […] Read more
U.S. livestock: Hogs dip from two-week high, await trade news
Reading Time: 2 minutes Chicago | Reuters — U.S. lean hog futures retreated on Wednesday after four straight sessions of gains in a technical and profit-taking setback from two-week highs as investors awaited new developments in U.S.-China trade negotiations. Cattle futures also fell broadly, although worries about a late-winter snowstorm forecast for the beef cattle-producing U.S. Plains underpinned the […] Read more
Klassen: Winter conditions weigh on feeder market
Reading Time: 2 minutes Western Canadian feeder cattle prices were relatively unchanged from week-ago levels. The major feeding regions from Alberta to the U.S. Midwest and southern Plains have all experienced severe storms and extreme temperatures. The forecast for southern Alberta calls for lows of -25 to -32 C over the next seven days. Auction markets have a few […] Read more
U.S. livestock: Cattle set one-year high on weather, supply concerns
Reading Time: 2 minutes Chicago | Reuters — U.S. cattle futures reached a one-year high on Friday on concerns that cold, snowy weather next week may tighten supplies by slowing weight gain and transportation of livestock. Snowfall is expected to increase across the U.S. Plains, where the temperature outlook also is trending colder, according to weather forecaster Radiant Solutions. […] Read more
Klassen: Feeder cattle succumb to negative margins
Reading Time: 2 minutes Alberta fed cattle prices have dropped nearly $15 over the past three weeks. Feedlot margins are deep in red ink, with losses amounting to $200-250 per head. Compared to last week, yearlings and calves over 700 lbs. traded $3-$5 lower; calves under 700 lbs. were down $5-$8 with some feeder markets in Alberta dropping as […] Read more
Feed weekly outlook: Little to change for Prairie prices
Reading Time: < 1 minute As feedlots reduce their cattle numbers, demand for feed grains has declined on the Canadian Prairies, according to Market Place Commodities trader Allen Pirness at Lethbridge. “It’s a pretty calm time of year. The feedlots are shipping a lot of fat cattle more than they are replacing. Their grain consumption drops off a little bit […] Read more
Feed weekly outlook: Prairie wheat, barley prices still look good
Reading Time: < 1 minute Prices for feed wheat and barley in Western Canada are doing pretty good, according to Nelson Neumann of Agfinity in Edmonton. Feed wheat is up to $6 per bushel in the Edmonton area and about $250 per tonne in the Lethbridge area, he said. Feed barley was still quite strong, although the price had softened […] Read more
A message from April Stewart, Country Guide's Associate Editor
