The cattle markets have been very volatile over the last year or so, and prices have dropped to about half of what they were 18 months ago.
Brian Perillat manager and senior marketing analyst for Canfax, says it is still surprising how far and how much decline there has been in the markets.
"The overall trend is down - we're looking at bigger cattle supplies, big beef supplies, and big pork supplies across North America - definitely limitations on the market for all of this meat.
Consumers have a lot of choices and a lot more meat to work through - we look at even the trade balances and that means lower prices," he said.
The manager and senior marketing analyst for Canfax says while there's been a little bounce back in prices for calves, fed cattle sit in the low $1.30s.
He says while the cattle herd in Canada has been flat, the US herd has expanded aggressively, and that could continue a downward trend in the market.
"You look at these cycles and it's not uncommon for them - 2 to 4 years that they can trend lower because it's just the way the meat supplies and cattle supplies look.
We're going to have more cattle in North America in 2017 and that will mean more beef in 2017-18," he said.
Source : Steinbachonline