Fed cattle, railgrade cattle and cull cows all sold under pressure in Ontario last week.
Fed steer prices were 65 cents lower on the week, fed heifers 1.28 lower.
They ranged from about 41 to just over 45 dollars below a year ago.
The Ontario railgrade average price was down $9.50 on the week and over 72 dollars below a year ago.
Cull cows were down almost a dollar on the week and over 34 dollars on the year.
Beef Farmers of Ontario reports light weight, grass type replacements were mostly steady to 2 dollars higher with second cut barely steady to lower.
Heavier replacements were mostly to barely steady.
BFO says fed cattle marketings were up 50 head on the week and 135 head on the year.
Cull cow marketings were also up last week - 471 on the week and just over 700 more than a year ago.
And replacement cattle sales were up almost 4 thousand on the week but still 245 below what they were a year ago.
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Weekly Cattle Comments - As Supplied by Beef Farmers of Ontario Toll free: 1-866-370-2333 or Local: (519) 824-0334 Fax: (519) 824-9161 Email: markets@ontariobeef.com Comments for the week ending April 28, 2016 The live fed cattle market was under some pressure this week, but not as much as its rail counterpart. There were 593 fed steers and heifers sold through auction markets this week up 50 head from last week and 135 more than this time last year. Fed steers ranged from $137.87-$155.88 averaging $148.38 down $0.65 from last week and $45.41 below year ago prices. Fed heifers sold from $139.57-$156.60 averaging $149.30 down $1.28 from last week and $40.93 below year ago prices. Auction market reports started out with active trading at prices $2.00-$3.00 higher at one market, and under pressure at another, with exception of fancy lots which sold for a good premium. By midweek the market saw medium quality and heavier lots trading $4.00-$5.00 cwt lower with fancies selling lower. The market ended the week $1.00-$2.00 cwt lower.
The Ontario railgrade market was under pressure this week with sales the previous Friday from $265.00-$269.00 dressed for steers and $264.00-$268.00 for heifers, with one packer not buying. On Monday, everyone was back at the table buying, with prices reduced to $253.00-$262.00 dressed for steers and $252.00-$261.00 for heifers. By Wednesday the market had declined further to $248.00-$255.00 for steers and $247.00-$254.00 for heifers, with delivery dates varying anywhere from this week to the last week in May. This week's average prices are $9.50 below last week on average and $72.25 below this time last year, however the average daily price declined from $267.00 on Friday to $251.50 by Wednesday.
The Canadian Boxed Beef market reported by Kevin Greer for the week of April 25th notes: "The Canadian market continues to suffer from very poor demand in both the east and the west. Consumers are being very careful around the meat case and continue to buy sparingly. This week's beef ads in Ontario were generally weak."
Larger receipts of cull cows came to market his week totalling 2,599 head, up 471 from last week and 701 more than last year at this time. Cull cows sold from $71.03-$99.62 averaging $84.16 down $0.98 from last week and $34.15 below last year at this time. Auction markets reported trade as steady to fully steady all week, until mid to late week with prices easier, up to $2.00-$4.00 lower.
A much larger run of replacements came to market this week with Ontario auction markets selling 8,222 head, up 3,966 more than last week, but 245 below last year at this time. Auction market reports for the light weight, grass type cattle saw prices for the good quality mostly steady to $2.00 cwt higher, with second cut barely steady to lower, down $5.00-$10.00 cwt in spots. The heavier weights were barely steady to under pressure early week, but as the week progressed the market was mostly steady to barely steady. Actual average prices this week for steers 400-500 lbs was down $18.22 from last week on average, 500-600 lbs averaged $25.17 lower, 600-700 lbs down $10.83, 700-800 lbs down $10.08, 800-900 lbs down $9.39, 900-1000 lbs down $7.72 and steers over 1000 lbs averaged $0.81 higher than last week on average. Heifers 300-400 lbs averaged $19.13 lower than last week on average, 400-500 lbs down $21.13, 500-600 lbs down $15.19, 600-700 lbs down $10.99, 700-800 lbs down $12.50, 800-900 lbs down $7.53 and heifers over 900 lbs averaged $8.20 below last weeks weighted average prices. The Quebec Electronic Market this week sold from $249.25-$252.00 down $10.17 from last week on average.
The Alberta cash cattle trade the week ending April 21st was reported by Canfax as very light. The Canfax sale summary listed steers from $270.50-$274.50 dressed averaging $272.30 down $6.67 from the previous week on average while heifers sold from $271.50-$275.50, averaging $275.00 down $1.86. This week Canfax notes: "dressed sales have been reported in a very wide trading range. Premiums were being paid for cattle that could be delivered within two weeks. For immediate delivery trade was reported from 278.00-280.00 delivered which is 1.00-3.00 higher than the previous week. There were also some cattle that traded for June delivery and trade was reported from 252.00-257.00 delivered. We are on the horizon of seeing increased fed supplies and that is clearly being bid into the market." The Canfax weekly sale summary for this week ranged from $251.00-$278.00 dressed for steers averaging $3.58 higher than last week, while heifers sold from $251.00-$277.00 down $5.04 from last week on average.
The U.S. cash cattle trade for the week ending April 14th, was under pressure with prices declining as the week progressed. The USDA Mandatory Price Report for last week listed live sales from $125.00-$128.00 live with steers averaging $126.45 down $7.54 from the previous week on average, while heifers averaged $126.70 live down $7.21. On the rail prices for the week ranged from $196.00-$210.00 dressed, with steers averaging $200.68 down $13.30 from the previous week, while heifers averaged $201.71 down $12.00. This week a handful of sales were noted on Tuesday and Wednesday, but on Thursday trade was moderate in volume. Business so far this week has ranged from $120.00-$125.00 live with steers averaging $123.87 so far, down $2.58 and heifers $123.78 down $2.92. On the rail prices ranged from $188.00-$197.00 dressed, with steers averaging $194.50 down $6.18 from last week and heifers $195.33 down $6.38 on average. Today a few sales have been reported at $124.00 live in the south and $193.00 dressed in the north, but at this point it appears that the bulk of trade for this week is completed.
Jamie Gamble, Market Information Coordinator, Beef Farmers of Ontario.
