Reported feeder steer and heifer prices in Saskatchewan for the week ending January 24th show steer prices were down but heifer prices were up.
Only the 300-400 pound steers and the 300-400 and 400-500 pound heifer categories didn’t report a price for the week due to a limited amount of cattle sold. Some of the other categories lack a week-over-week change in prices.
Prices of the steers ranged from the low end of $355.59 per cwt in the 900-plus pound category to the high end of $565.29 per cwt in the 400-500 pound category. The 400-500 and 600-700 pound categories recorded week-over-week decreases. Heifer prices ranged from $346.00 per cwt in the 800-plus pound category to $463.33 per cwt in the 500-600 pound category. The 600-700 and 700-800 categories had increases in price compared to the prior week.
Livestock Intern at the Saskatchewan Ministry of Agriculture Emily Schmidt notes reported prices for each weight category were record highs. She also says strong demand and limited supplies have been supporting cattle prices for a while, as well as a dropping Canadian Dollar that has remained in the 69 cent U.S. range since mid-December. Producers took advantage of the high prices by sending more cattle to auctions last week compared to the prior week, added Schmidt.
Canfax reported 14,924 head of cattle were sold at auction in Saskatchewan, up from 11,986 during the week ending January 17th. It’s also above the number of cattle sold the same week last year of 6,603.
In Alberta, the price for live, non-fed cattle were mixed last week while the price for fed steers was down compared to the prior week. D2 slaughter cows averaged $184.40 per cwt, down $2.16 from the previous week and the price of D3 slaughter cows was up by $2.35 to $170.25 per cwt.
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