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: November 15, 2021 issue
Cattle sales and slaughter
‘Producers marketed grass and background cattle 1 to 2 months ahead of schedule to maximize feed availability for their core beef herd,’ says Jason Wood, provincial livestock market analyst with the Alberta government.
Weekly auction volumes have been above the 5-year average in all weeks but one since the end of June. Total Alberta cattle sold at auction over the last 4 months is just over 700,000 head, up 34% from the previous year and 26% higher than the 5-year average. Weekly auction volumes are expected to remain large through November as the fall calf run wraps up.
Non-fed cattle marketings have been elevated for some time. Estimated Canadian cow exports to the end of August are about 12% lower than in 2020, mainly due to significantly lower exports during the April to June period. However, compared to 2019, estimated cow exports are about 9% higher this year and 3% higher than the 5-year average. Estimated Canadian cow exports during July and August were about 30% higher than in 2020 and the 5-year average.
‘Higher exports are a factor of lower than average slaughter demand for cows and high feed costs that have reduced demand for feeder cows.’
Western Canada cow slaughter is 274,079 head to the week ending October 30, up 12.7% from 2020 but 0.7% below the 5-year average. The weekly pace of cow slaughter increased in May this year and has been above the 5-year average in 18 of the last 27 weeks.
Nationally, cow slaughter is 363,633 head to the week ending October 30, up 11% from 2020 and 1.6% above the 5-year average. The impact of larger cow marketings is expected to lift the Canadian culling rate to a forecasted 14% in 2021, up from the 15-year average of 12% and the 2020 value of 11% (Gateway Livestock Exchange).
Figure 1. Western Canada non-fed weekly slaughter – Cows and bulls
Increased culling has pressured prices with the Alberta D2 cow market seeing larger than seasonal price declines in recent weeks. Over the last 5 weeks, D2 cows have declined over 24% or $20 per hundred weight (cwt) – $280 per head on 1,400 pound cow. By comparison, the 5-year average shows a 6% decline or $77 per head for the same period.
The average monthly cow price peaked in June and has been under pressure following drought conditions and associated impact on feed supply and cost. D2 cows averaged $61.29 per cwt for the first week of November, down 3% from the previous week, 12% lower than the same week a year ago and 24% below the same week on the 5-year average. Cow sales are expected to remain elevated through the remainder of the fall run.
Figure 2. Alberta D2 cow weekly price
The Alberta cow market has been trading at a discount to the U.S. cow market since mid-July. Previously, 2014 was the last time that the Alberta cow market traded at a discount to the United States market for more than 7 weeks. Alberta D2 cows were trading at an $18 per cwt discount to the U.S. market at the start of November compared to an $8 per cwt discount the same week a year ago.
‘The price discount will continue to encourage U.S. buying. Prices usually hit their seasonal low in late November then start to seasonally strengthen into yearend’ says Wood.
Contact
Connect with Jason Wood:
Hours: 8:15 am to 4:30 pm (open Monday to Friday, closed statutory holidays)
Phone: 780-422-3122
Toll free: 310-0000 before the phone number (in Alberta)
Email: [email protected]
For media inquiries about this article:
Phone: 780-422-1005
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