Market remains strong despite weak base – RealAgriculture

If you have looked at live cattle futures, you know that there is significant strength on display here.

The Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) has hit new contract highs in live cattle futures, a sign of strong demand and high prices for livestock feeders in the United States. But as Gateway Livestock Exchange’s Anne Wasko explains in this episode of Beef Market Update, the base in Western Canada has “fallen on its face.”

The weak base may be due in part to the increasing slaughter of cows, which is reducing space for young cattle in packing plants, explains Wasko. The packers’ processing rates also fell slightly compared to the previous year. Meanwhile, volume in auction markets has increased significantly compared to last year, with internet sales up 46 percent compared to 2022, suggesting that producers may be turning to marketing their livestock in different ways.

A look at past livestock feeding activity, imports and exports, beef trade volumes and more in the Beef Market Update episode below:

SUMMARY:

• Things have been pretty quiet in the US so far
• Livestock contracts have turned heads, however, with the Chicago futures market hitting new contract highs this week
• The rancher in the United States is certainly watching this very closely and saying, Hello, have you looked at these futures markets lately?
• Because of these high futures prices, I haven’t seen much trading – there’s a bit of a stalemate
• The selection came in at $5
• It usually takes until the fourth quarter of the year before we can really see this cutout showing its colors during the holiday season
• There we treat ourselves to a typical breather
• Local clothing trade is steady and up a dollar from last week
• We still have a very weak base in Western Canada
• The market had seen a weak base at the start of 2023, then it somehow improved, and then we got into May/June. As we spent the rest of the summer, especially here in August and September, the base kind of fell flat on its face
• Alberta’s auction market volume is up 51 per cent compared to last year, but is still five per cent below the 2021 drought
• Internet volume has increased by 46 percent since ’22
• Feeder cattle imports from the USA continue to run at an increased pace, but exports are only half of the previous year’s pace

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Google Podcasts | Spotify | | All podcasts