Source: Alberta Agriculture and Forestry
Jason Wood, provincial livestock market analyst with Alberta Agriculture and Forestry, updates the numbers as of June 19, 2019.
Wood says that the western Canada cull cow market has moved lower over the last few weeks. “The average D1-2 price was $86.50 per cwt for the week ending June 14, 2019, down more than $10 per cwt from the end of May.”
“The western Canada cow market has been trading at a premium to the U.S. cow market since August 2016,” he adds. “The recent softer prices combined with modest increases in the U.S. cow market have put the western Canada cow price on par with the U.S. market.”
Year-to-date – as of mid-June 2019 – the western Canada cow market is averaging 3.5% lower than in 2018. Wood says that seasonally, the cow market typically moves lower in June and then improves through July and August before moving seasonally lower into November.
“Prices are also being affected by total cattle marketings,” he explains. “Canadian cow slaughter in 2019 has increased 5.6% compared to a year ago while total slaughter is up 6.5%. In the west, cow slaughter is up 8.4% year over year with total cattle slaughter up 7.3%.”
Increased slaughter has put year-to-date Canadian year-to-date beef production is up 9% year-over-year at 1.1 billion pounds.
“Cattle market factors to watch include the supply of fed and non-fed cattle, beef movement given cooler weather, and the potential impact pasture and forage conditions may have on cattle movement,” he adds.
Contact
For more information, contact Jason Wood:
Hours: 8:15 am to 4:30 pm (open Monday to Friday, closed statutory holidays)
Phone: 780-422-2133
Toll free: 310-0000 before the phone number (in Alberta)
Email: jason.wood@gov.ab.ca
