Table of contents
- 2023 Harvest Sample Program
- Apply for a cash advance under the Advance Payments Program
- Apply now for an Agricultural Society Innovation Award
- Artificial intelligence, the food sector and the consumer
- Cattle on feed reports show tighter supplies
- Cow inventories – Are we still liquidating
- Feed barley prices are moderating
- Feeder cattle prices are strong
- Forage sources
- Improving on-farm irrigation systems
- Lamb market trends
- Perseverance in the pork sector
- Pet ownership and pet food trends
- Rebuilding Alberta’s cattle herd
- The value of straw
- U.S. hog contraction still ahead
- What to do when crop prices are volatile
- CropChoices updated for 2022
- Agri-News – Newsletter archive
- Elm pruning ban starts April 1
- Nominations open for Agriculture Hall of Fame 2022
- 2022 Crop considerations
- AgriProfit$ cow/calf benchmark report
- Register for Open Farm Days 2022
- Cropping Alternatives 2022 now available
- Preventing wildfires is always in season
- Canadian crop movement
- Certified seed costs
- 2021 Agricultural Society Innovation Award recipients
- Ocean shipping rates – what do they mean for Canadian exporters
- Participate in Halal Expo Canada
- Caution when winter burning
- Understanding canola basis
- Nitrogen prices and exports
- Take part in the SIAL Canada trade mission
- Consider the right time for manure or compost application
- High crop prices vs low 2021 crop yields
- The gift of an Alberta Christmas tree
- Great gifts for commercial producers
- Stocking stuffers for livestock producers
- Invitation to dairy farmers
- Apply for an Agricultural Society Innovation Award
- Growing gifts for gardening enthusiasts
- Canadian crop usage
- Cattle prices and above-average sales
- Alberta Open Farm Days a big success
- Better safe than sorry with winter burning
- Natural gas prices
- Consider the right source of manure or compost for field application
- Stored canola is well worth protecting
- Dealing with food loss and waste
- Live cattle imports and cattle slaughter both higher
- COVID-19 and demand for e-commerce
- Sugar beets are important to Alberta’s economy
- The canola market – sell, replace or hold
- Canadian Agricultural Partnership Farm Technology program
- Canadian Agricultural Partnership Water program
- Diagnosing pesky forest pests
- Field selection for fall manure or compost application
- Alberta lamb prices continue to be strong
- Harvest Sample Program
- 2021 Alberta nitrogen prices
- Prevent lead poisoning on pastures
- Be in the know this wildfire season
- A canola pricing option to consider
- Sign up now for the 2022 Dairy Cost Study
- Richardson’s Ground Squirrel control
- FireSmart your spring cleaning – Around your home
- COVID-19 and meat price trends
- Alberta rat control - taking care of business
- Forward pricing wheat
- FireSmart your spring cleaning – Around your property
- Crop Reporting Program
- Alberta approved farmers' markets now open
- Albertans can do their part to prevent wildfires
- Minimal canola carryover
- Hard work pays off for Sherwood Park-based company
- May gardening possibilities based on frost probabilities
- Cattle on feed inventories
- Using the Alberta Climate Information Service Fusarium Risk Tool
- The Canadian dollar and commodity prices
- Okotoks-based company wins gold at SIAL’s Innovation competition
- Dangers of blue-green algae
- Help protect Alberta’s beautiful elm trees
- Weather and weather data at your fingertips
- Fed cattle prices holding strong
- Fireworks and exploding targets can cause wildfires
- Put option basics
- Risk to bighorn sheep and mountain goat populations
- Lamb and sheep market update
- Interactive export catalogue launched
- Global appetite for pork
- COVID-19 and foodservice trends
- Video Ante-Mortem Inspection program
- Crop prices have fallen - back to marketing basics
- 2022 Alberta canola seed costs
- Register for Getting Into Food Service
- Sheep industry fares well despite challenges
- Canadian canola crop prospects
- Register for Vendor 101 training
- Learn about the legalities of the food co-packing industry
- Bunnies and biosecurity – What you can do
- Canola crop options – Sell, replace or store
- Optimism for fall calf prices
- Smaller cow herd seems likely
- Determine the right rate for manure or compost application
- Agricultural Society Innovation Award accepting applications
- Get an assessment of your grain’s quality
- AgriProfits supports the Canadian Cow-Calf Cost of Production Network
- Alberta and U.S. cattle price spreads
- Advance Payments Program
- Change in AOPA Livestock Type Calculator
- Consider short-term in-field manure storage
- Uncertainties in the lamb market
- Keep safe burning practices top of mind
- The Pacific Northwest – A priority export market for Alberta companies
- Learn about exporting to the U.S. Midwest
- Growing opportunities for health products in the Mexican market
- Canadian crop deliveries and exports
- AgriProfits – Dairy Cost Study program
- Accessing free market intelligence
- Alberta hay prices
- Improve returns from culled cows
- Understanding the basis for crops
- 2022 Cattle market review
- Getting more Alberta products on the shelf
- Communication - A key to any successful business
- Register for the Farm to Market to Table Conference
- Check those bins
- Winter manure management considerations
- Recognizing innovative agricultural societies
- Cattle by the numbers
- Canola price seasonality
- Jack Lewis inducted into the Agriculture Hall of Fame
- Tracking environmentally sustainable agriculture in Alberta
- Bruce Beattie inducted into Agriculture Hall of Fame
- COVID-19 and healthy food trends
- Simone Demers-Collins inducted into Agriculture Hall of Fame
- 2022 Alberta lamb and sheep market update
- Assess manure storage and wintering site locations
- Register for Open Farm Days 2023
- Cropping Alternatives 2023 now available
- La Nina boosts Australian crop production
- Hog market update
- COVID-19 and vitamins and supplements
- Guidelines add clarity when investigating sites for manure facilities
- Strong Canadian crop movement to date
- Keep your Premises Identification account up to date
- CropChoice$ updated for 2023
- U.S. Choice-Select boxed beef price spread
- Trends that will shape the grocery industry in 2023
- How to use CropChoice$
- Retail and foodservice sales slowly returning to pre-pandemic normal
- Why bighorn sheep and domestic sheep or goats should not mix
- 2023 Crop Reporting program
- Canadian canola market
- 2023 Alberta approved farmers' markets now open
- Dangers of blue-green algae when temperatures rise
- Can Canada see beef herd expansion in 2023?
- Canola usage remains strong
- Lamb and sheep market remains resilient
- Benefits of installing shallow buried pasture water pipelines
- Oat price outlook improves
See event listings and more articles in this edition of Agri-News: October 24, 2022 issue
“The week ending October 14, 2022 saw minimal buyer bidding on live fed steers in Alberta,” says Ann Boyda, provincial livestock market analyst with Agriculture and Irrigation. “A weekly price trend was not available. The prior week did see a modest increase of $.24/cwt on fed steers in comparison to Nebraska’s increase of $Cdn2.75/cwt. The price spread between the 2 markets was $20.59/cwt under.”
The 5-year average prices of these 2 price series shows a closer alignment. The spot basis (difference between the cash price and the nearby futures price) is estimated to be $18.50/cwt under. The same week in 2021 reported a spot basis of approximately $2/cwt over. Why the deviation? Is the Alberta cattle market out of sync with the U.S. market?
“There are a number of factors influencing recent cattle markets, starting with narrowing packer margins,” says Boyda. “Packer margins are closer to average versus the higher levels of the recent year. Demand is keeping throughput moving but last week there were insufficient bids to register a trend in fed steer prices. Listings are now into November.”
Tighter supplies in the U.S. are putting U.S. packers in the red. HedgersEdge.com reported beef packers losses of $US14.35/head on October 11, 2022, down from earnings of $US18.40/head the week before.
“The U.S. is keeping cattle processing current but this may not be the case in Alberta. Commercial red meat production for the U.S. totaled 4.83 billion pounds in August, up 5% from August 2021. Cattle slaughter totaled 3.08 million head, up 7% from August 2021.”
The average live weight was down 6 pounds from the previous year. U.S. packers are processing cattle at a greater pace than that of the last 2 years. In comparison, according to data from the Canadian Beef Grading Agency, Alberta steer carcass weights have increased to 953 pounds in September 2022, approximately 20 pounds higher than September 2021. Heavier weights and longer delivery schedules suggest that the Alberta processing is still not current.
“The weaker basis levels may encourage holding feeders longer; however rising costs of gain need to be considered. Barley prices have risen every week since the last week in August 2022, from $359.50 to $431.50/tonne based in Lethbridge.”
The pull for cattle is not as strong as earlier in the year, notes Boyda. Weekly slaughter for the West Region on the week of October 8, 2022 was 49,234 head, 8.9% lower than the same week in 2021, but equivalent in terms of year-to-date over 2021. The Canadian Beef Grading Agency reported the first quarter slaughter volume of 2022 as 5.5% higher than that of the same period in 2021. By the third quarter of 2022, slaughter volumes were 4.8% lower than the same quarter in 2021.
Finally, Alberta beef exports to key markets slipped in August 2022. Beef (fresh, frozen or chilled, including offal) export volume in August was 32.2 tonnes, 9.9% lower than the previous month and 16.8% lower than August 2021.
The value of beef exports in August 2022 was $286.1 million, a drop of 9.2% from July 2022 and a decrease of 24% over August 2021. 2022 started strong but the key markets of U.S. and Japan saw a decline in August. Although Canada remains the top beef supplier to the U.S., Brazil and Mexico have made inroads and U.S. beef imports increased by 8.6% over 2022.
Chart 1. Alberta beef exports

“Recession concerns are pervasive. The global economy may be in a worse position than Canada finds itself and that too has impacts. The U.S. cattle market is likely to see continued high prices as it continues into its liquidation phase of the cattle cycle. The drought in the U.S. and tight supplies will contribute to the price pressure. The strong U.S. dollar and strong demand ahead of the holiday season should provide some support to Alberta prices in the fourth quarter of 2022,” says Boyda.
For more information, see:
Contact
Connect with Ann Boyda for more information:
Phone: 780-422-4088
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