Cattle Market Update; Sask. Agriculture

Posted on 28 November 2023 by Ryan Dahlman

Saskatchewan Agriculture looking for your opinion on the Cattle Market Update.  If you haven’t already done so, please click here to take our short survey (https://agsurveys.gov.sk.ca/s3/Cattle-Market-Update-Survey), which closes on December 12, 2023.

Please find attached the Cattle Market Update based on the week ending November 24, 2023.  Some highlights from the report include:

• Saskatchewan feeder cattle sold at auction marts declined for the week ending November 24, with Canfax reporting 27,940 head sold, compared to the 38,009 head marketed the previous week.

• Feeder steer prices were mixed amongst the weight categories compared to the previous week. Prices ranged from $469.33 per cwt for the 300-400lb weight category, down to $283.50 per cwt for the 900+lb weight category.

• Saskatchewan’s feeder heifers were mostly improved compared to the prior week.  Prices ranged from $380.92 per cwt for the 300-400lb weight category to $266.75 per cwt for the 800+lb weight category. 

• Prices of Alberta cows reported on November 24 were down compared to November 17.  D2 cows decreased on average $5.82 per cwt from the previous week to average $122.28 per cwt.  D3 slaughter cows were down $4.63 per cwt from the prior week, ending the week at an average price of $110.83 per cwt.

• Alberta fed steers averaged $228.19 per cwt for the week ending November 24.

• Both the feeder cattle and live cattle futures were down on Friday to end the week. 

◦ The January feeder cattle futures fell a considerable US$9.175 per cwt over the week to settle Friday at US$219.325 per cwt.  The March 2024 contract also decreased similarly by US$8.250 per cwt, week-over-week, to settle Friday at US$222.725 per cwt.

◦ The December live cattle futures contract price decreased US$5.500 per cwt over the week to settle Friday at US$170.250 per cwt. The February 2024 contract for live cattle decreased similarly by US$5.825 per cwt from the previous week and settled Friday at US$170.975 per cwt.