Beef Market Update: Recent Episodes
RealAgriculture
Despite industry expectations of a seasonal pullback, cattle markets are once again surprising analysts and producers alike, climbing higher in early October. Volatility remains the dominant theme, as prices fluctuate weekly in both cash and futures markets, while beef imports rise sharply to offset tightening domestic supply. “Every time the market kind of does a... Read More
Seasonal price declines are typical for this time of year, but the September slowdown in wholesale and fed cattle markets is drawing sharper attention amid a backdrop of volatile futures and supply uncertainty. In this week’s episode of the Beef Market Update, Anne Wasko of Gateway Livestock Exchange notes that fed cattle prices have continued... Read More
Fed cattle prices in Canada are holding steady even as U.S. markets begin to soften following the Labour Day weekend. While some may get a little nervous about prices stalling out, the pullback could reflect a healthy seasonal correction, says Anne Wasko of Gateway Livestock Exchange. “We’ve just come off all-time record highs in both... Read More
It’s another record-setting week for the cattle market as RealAg Radio host Shaun Haney checks in with Anne Wasko of the Gateway Livestock Exchange for this Beef Market Update. As both U.S. and Canadian markets post new highs, attention turns to placements, packer margins, and the long-term outlook for herd rebuilding on both sides of... Read More
In this Beef Market Update, Anne Wasko of Gateway Livestock Exchange joins RealAgriculture’s Shaun Haney to break down the latest cash and wholesale market moves, trade flows, and forward cattle sales activity — all against a backdrop of tight supplies and strong demand. Mid-August cattle markets remain on a hot streak, with both U.S. and... Read More
In this Beef Market Update, Anne Wasko of the Gateway Livestock Exchange joins Lyndsey Smith to break down a bullish start to August for cattle markets and the latest from U.S. supply reports. Key Highlights from the Update: Moisture boosts optimism: Parts of southwest Saskatchewan received steady July rains, improving forage and crop conditions, though... Read More
Despite a whirlwind of global trade tensions and fluctuating markets, North America's beef sector remains resilient, with cash cattle prices demonstrating surprising strength well into July. In this episode of the Beef Market Update, Shaun Haney is joined as always by market analyst Anne Wasko of Gateway Livestock Exchange to discuss the latest cattle market... Read More
The calendar is sliding into the dog days of summer — and grills across the continent are working overtime. That's good news for cattle markets, and to break down the cash prices, cattle movement, and inventory, we've got host of the Beef Market Update Shaun Haney with Anne Wasko of the Gateway Livestock Exchange. In... Read More
In this week’s Beef Market Update, Shaun Haney is joined by Anne Wasko of Gateway Livestock Exchange to discuss the week’s explosive cattle markets and what’s on the horizon for Canadian producers. Southern U.S. markets were on fire, with Texas and Kansas live cattle prices jumping $5–$8 higher. Dressed trade in Nebraska saw gains of... Read More
Cattle prices continue to push higher, but the real story may be what’s coming this fall, and how early signs are shaping expectations. In this episode of the Beef Market Update, Anne Wasko of Gateway Livestock Exchange joins RealAgriculture's Lyndsey Smith to discuss the latest market movements heading into the U.S. Memorial Day weekend, describing... Read More
It is getting hot out there, and the thermometer isn't the only thing that has been going up — cattle markets continue to sizzle. In this episode of the Beef Market Update, Anne Wasko of Gateway Livestock Exchange tells RealAgriculture's Shaun Haney that once again the markets are reaching new high price territory. Prices in... Read More
It's pretty difficult to talk cattle markets without also talking about beef, and this episode of RealAgriculture's Beef Market Update is no exception. With continued market highs, the conversation between Anne Wasko of Gateway Livestock Exchange and RealAgriculture's Shaun Haney quickly turns to comparisons between current cattle prices and those seen during the early stages... Read More
Cattle markets in the U.S. mirrored the volatility seen across equity, bond, and currency markets this week. U.S. markets seesawed this week — falling early, rebounding mid-week, then sliding again by Friday, as Anne Wasko of Gateway Livestock Exchange tells RealAgriculture's Shaun Haney in this episode of Beef Market Update. Canadian markets, however, have held... Read More
"Incredible" and "on-fire" are just a couple of descriptors that Anne Wasko of Gateway Livestock Exchange uses to describe the markets in this episode of Beef Market Update. When it comes to the U.S., new records continue to be set and Wasko says that a 'pile of cattle' were traded last week. This week started... Read More
Erratic is the word of the day and the markets are responding hour-by-hour, day-to-day, and week-to-week with the news, says Anne Wasko of Gateway Livestock Exchange in this episode of the Beef Market Update. In the southern U.S., cash markets bounced back last week and have managed to hold those gains. This follows a cycle... Read More
This week held no big surprises in the beef markets. While markets were lower last week, Anne Wasko of Gateway Livestock Exchange surmised that would continue into this week and confirmed that it has. The dressed market in the U.S. is down and the wholesale market is under pressure as well; however, showing signs of... Read More
Markets in the United States faltered this week. While prices hit a high two weeks ago, this week they settled $7–$8 lower than last week. Unsurprisingly for the time of year, packers have cut kills this week, but that wasn’t enough to support the choice cutout, which dropped $6.50. While the U.S. experienced reduced prices,... Read More
Coming off some near-month contract highs of $200-/+ it's no surprise to see futures falling as the week closes out, but cash cattle in the south ticked higher as they caught up to northern prices this past week (Check out the related story on cattle futures here). The cutout did show signs of weakening in... Read More
Strong and high prices across the board was the story in the cattle markets this week. In the southern U.S., trade remains steady at $2.01. Anne Wasko of Gateway Livestock Exchange highlights that this is the first time she has reported prices at this level on the Beef Market Update. Nebraska markets are steady to... Read More
There are some years that start off slowly when it comes to the cattle markets, however 2025 is off to a great start with prices up across the board in the U.S. The Choice cut-out has been driving some of that, Anne Wasko with the Gateway Livestock Exchange explains in this first episode of Beef... Read More
2024 will go down as a year of market demand that was stronger than could have ever been anticipated. This exceptional demand helped to drive the smaller supply of beef to reach record prices. In this last episode of the Beef Market Update for 2024, Anne Wasko of Gateway Livestock Exchange reflects on the past... Read More
The Christmas holidays are almost upon us and while Christmas markets may be busy with shoppers looking for the perfect gift in the coming weeks, the cattle markets have started to slow down in the U.S., as a lot of the buying has been done for the season. Now that we have hit December it's... Read More
Markets in the U.S. experienced a bounce this week from the downward trend that they were on due to packers running smaller fed-cattle kills in the last few weeks. That support under the cutout has been supporting the cash markets. The select spread has widened again which continues to confirm that demand for those high... Read More
Trade was slow to get moving this week in the U.S. In this Beef Market Update, Anne Wasko of the Gateway Livestock Exchange tells RealAgriculture’s Shaun Haney that this could be due to packers possibly dragging their feet on the choice cut out, which has lost some of its momentum. There is still a strong… Read More
Holiday season — the U.S. Thanksgiving and Christmas time of year — is around the corner, and that’s showing in the beef market. The upcoming holidays are impacting the choice cutout and while the chuck primal is starting to come off, the strength of the market is in the loin and rib cutouts, says Anne… Read More
Steady to higher seems to be the common theme in the majority of cattle markets throughout North America. In the southern U.S., it looks like the trades are going to come in steady to one higher and the north is pretty steady with last week, says Anne Wasko of the Gateway Livestock Exchange in this… Read More
In the Beef Market Update this week, Anne Wasko of Gateway Livestock Exchange and RealAgriculture’s Shaun Haney start the conversation with the good news that the U.S. fat cattle market in the south and in the north the live market, appears to be gaining some ground, coming off of the early September lows. That being... Read More
Seasonality is a big part of the conversation in this week’s Beef Market Update with Anne Wasko of Gateway Livestock Exchange. In the last few years, the markets have been trending towards higher prices; however, as we start to steady out we are likely to start seeing a little more seasonality return to the cattle... Read More
Markets this week are ending the summer in a downward trend with both the U.S. and Canada having a down week in the cash, cattle, and wholesale markets. In the States, live, dressed and choice cutout all came in steady or lower. Labour Day buying is done and going into September it is back to... Read More
Live cattle trade in the south was quieter this week, and prices drifted lower says Anne Wasko of the Gateway Livestock Exchange, in this edition of the Beef Market Update. While trade has been quieter, there’s still plenty to discuss about what’s happening in the beef and cattle markets both in the U.S. and Canada.... Read More
The summer doldrums seem to be hitting the U.S. cattle markets this week, with trades coming in at around $2 less than last week, whereas choice cutout held steady. While it may feel as though cutout is struggling a bit, Anne Wasko, of Gateway Livestock Exchange, reminds us in this week’s Beef Market Update that... Read More
Depending on which side of the border you’re on, cut-out prices and placements drifted lower in the last two weeks, but stuck with seasonal trends, says Anne Wasko of the Gateway Livestock Exchange. U.S. on-feed numbers are expected to climb by about 3 per cent year over year based on June data, while cash markets... Read More
It was a busy holiday week for BBQs both in Canada and the United States. The holidays, combined with a plant closure in Kansas, all amount to less beef being processed this week. While there wasn’t a report from USDA on Thursday, markets closed Wednesday night with choice cutout at six and a half dollars... Read More
A mid-week U.S. holiday this week didn’t affect beef kill but closed futures and packers wanting to dial markets back from last week’s new cash high combined for slower trade for beef markets. In this week’s Beef Market Update, Anne Wasko with the Gateway Livestock Exchange, says cattle feeders want to keep the momentum rolling... Read More
Cash trade in the south and in Canada was pretty quiet this week, nudging off the start of June versus any real kickoff to the new month. In the U.S., slaughter was down this week too, bumping the cutout price a little in the post-Memorial Day shortened week, says Anne Wasko with the Gateway Livestock... Read More
Rain makes grain, sure, but rain also makes green grass and that makes for a very happy Anne Wasko of the Gateway Livestock Exchange who joins Shaun Haney for this episode of the Beef Market Update. Green grass in many parts of the Prairies is a welcome change compared to the last few years, and... Read More
Cattle markets have been quiet throughout the American Midwest, with the choice market up from last week, but under where it was at the same time last year. The choice to select market is still under the five year average, according to Anne Wasko of the Gateway Livestock Exchange. This is a good indication that... Read More
After a decent start of better markets in terms of cash cattle, the futures market ended the week to the down side. This volatility is related to news around the ongoing outbreak of Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (HPAI), currently confirmed in eight U.S. states and in 33 herds of U.S. dairy cattle. Earlier in the... Read More
Cattle market moves are interesting this week, as prices move opposite directions in Canada and the U.S, demand for hamburger tidies up some supply, and feeder cattle movement remains strong. Every second Friday, the Beef Market Update brings you the latest in cattle movement numbers, beef export stats, value changes and so much more. This... Read More
Cattle markets reacted negatively to the news earlier this week of dairy cows testing positive for HPAI in Texas and Kansas. As Anne Wasko of the Gateway Livestock Exchange explains, it’s unfortunate but not unexpected to see a downward dip in futures when uncertainty creeps in to the marketplace. Cash trade in the U.S. was... Read More
There are reasons to feel some sustained optimism in cattle markets right now, as trade is holding steady while feed costs dip slightly, says Anne Wasko in this week’s Beef Market Update. Cattle prices held strong to steady this week in the more northern regions, which is good news, even if trade was quite light... Read More
We know the Canadian cattle herd has been shrinking, but by how much? In this week’s Beef Market Update, Anne Wasko shares the January 1, 2024 Canadian cattle inventory numbers and provides some context on not only what it means for the current beef and dairy cow herd, but also how the inventory breaks-down by... Read More
The cattle markets took a little breather this week, down from some of the highs set in January. It’s not unexpected for the time of year, says Anne Wasko with the Gateway Livestock Exchange, in this week’s Beef Market Update. Wasko hits on the latest round of cattle prices in the U.S. and Canada, before... Read More
What’s better than a Beef Market Update a day early? A Beef Market Update recorded in person! On this episode of the Beef Market Update, host Shaun Haney and Anne Wasko, of Gateway Livestock Exchange, sit down face to face to discuss: What happens at #CattleCon and what reports and analysis is up for discussion... Read More
Every two weeks, Anne Wasko, with the Gateway Livestock Exchange, joins RealAgriculture for the Beef Market Update. For this episode, Wasko is on with Lyndsey Smith, to talk about the cash trade, futures prices, packer margins, and heavy carcass weights of the last two weeks. Summary: U.S. cattle market trends and the cold weather impact... Read More
The first three months of the calendar year aren’t historically much to write home about for the cattle markets, and this first week of January 2024 is living up to the ho-hum expectation. There’s still plenty to be watching, however, and Anne Wasko of Gateway Livestock Exchange says that ample supplies of beef are definitely... Read More
Cattle are still bought, sold, and processed over the holiday season, but it’s typically a quieter time for bids and prices. Still, there’s plenty to talk about as we head towards the twilight zone of the week between Christmas and New Year’s Day. In this earlier-than-usual edition of the Beef Market Update, Shaun Haney and... Read More
Fat cattle markets in the U.S. headed down this week, at $3-$4 lower in the south, reflecting a larger downward trend since price peaks hit in September, says Anne Wasko in this week’s edition of the Beef Market Update. Western Canadian action was pretty quiet this week, with not a pile of volume in terms... Read More
As expected, cattle markets were a little quieter this week in light of U.S. Thanksgiving on Thursday. Still, there was plenty of trade, cattle-on-feed data, and export numbers released so that Shaun Haney and Anne Wasko of the Gateway Livestock Exchange have no shortage of news to discuss this week in the Beef Market Update.... Read More
Cattle markets have not had a great week. “It’s been a tough week, to be very blunt with you,” says Anne Wasko of the Gateway Livestock Exchange. “In the cattle markets, it doesn’t matter where you are, north or south.” For this not-very-rosy Beef Market Update, Wasko starts off where we usually do, with U.S.... Read More
The cattle markets took a tumble last week after the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA)’s Cattle on Feed report surprised traders with higher than expected cattle placements. September cattle placements were up six per cent compared to last year, and four per cent above the five-year average. Traders were only expecting a two per... Read More
There’s always something to cover in the beef and cattle markets, but this week marks a decidedly non-volatile week in trading. Anne Wasko, with the Gateway Livestock Exchange, brings an update from the south to the north and from beef prices to live weights in this episode of the Beef Market Update. The theme of... Read More
Cash cattle prices have remained “amazingly flat” in recent months, says Anne Wasko of the Gateway Livestock Exchange. “We’ve had basically two months of an Alberta fed cattle market, where we’ve been between $231-$235 per hundred weight. So we’re kind of done for trade up here for the week because of the holiday,” she says... Read More
If you’ve been watching live cattle futures, you know there is some significant strength making an appearance. The Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) has been hitting new contract highs when it comes to live cattle futures — signalling strong demand and prices for cattle feeders in the United States. However, as Anne Wasko of the Gateway... Read More
Now is the time for the beef markets to take a bit of a breather, as the retail buying is done headed into the Labour Day long weekend, and we wait for things to really start to pick up after September for Q4. Anne Wasko, of the Gateway Livestock Exchange, explains in this episode of... Read More
We’re midway through August, and the cattle market is beginning to pick up on both sides of the border. Beef market prices are continuing to improve, but questions surrounding whether demand can sustain a higher cutout are looming around as well. This week’s episode of the Beef Market Update takes a look at all of... Read More
Late last month, the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), released their mid-year inventory report. In a couple of weeks, the Canadian numbers will come out as well, which will give us the opportunity to reflect and compare. Ahead of the CanFax report, Anne Wasko, of the Gateway Livestock Exchange shares in this Beef Market... Read More
It is hot hot hot in many parts of North America right now. We are likely aware of how the heat is impacting us, but the question today for Anne Wasko of the Gateway Livestock Exchange is how is this impacting the cattle markets? In this episode of the Beef Market Update, Wasko explains that... Read More
We’re into the dog days of summer, and the cattle markets are certainly reflecting that. Add in the July 1st holiday in Canada, and July 4th in the U.S., and we’ve got a slow start to the markets this week, says Anne Wasko, of the Gateway Livestock Exchange. However, that doesn’t mean we don’t have... Read More
For many, branding season is quickly coming to a close. Calves are moving out to grass where possible, and the summer season is underway, says Anne Wasko, of the Gateway Livestock Exchange. On this week’s episode of the Beef Market Update, host Shaun Haney and Wasko discuss a few key topics including western Canadian cattle... Read More
What does a wizard have to do with cattle prices? Nothing really, but it would seem that there are some zany factors at play in cattle production where somehow cattle prices are climbing even as feed costs are dropping. Is it magic? Not quite, says Anne Wasko, of the Gateway Livestock Exchange, but prices are... Read More
Cattle markets have held their own over the last week, with prime grilling season underway heading into the Memorial Day weekend in the U.S. and Father’s Day around the corner. U.S. cattle prices this week ranged from one to three dollars higher, from south to north, explains Anne Wasko of the Gateway Livestock Exchange in... Read More
As the growing season really gets going across North America, we’re starting to see a little more hope on where the grass is growing, and there’s a bit more optimism out there in the pasture — especially in southwestern Saskatchewan, which has faced multiple years of hard drought and where this week’s Beef Market Update... Read More
If ever there was to be an all-good-news edition of the Beef Market Update, it may just be this week. Anne Wasko, of the Gateway Livestock Exchange, runs through the numbers south of the border, in the finished and feeder markets, and all the way down to grass cattle and the news is good to... Read More
Even though many are looking at the futures market for ’23 new crop prices, and there’s a little more positivity across drought areas in terms of upcoming precipitation, “what’s going in the mouths of cattle today is still old crop.” So, as a result, we’re going to have to wait until the back half of... Read More
The story for the last couple of weeks in the cattle markets has been the cash market, and how it is responding on both sides of the border. In both the U.S. and Canada, the cash market has been extremely positive, says Anne Wasko, of the Gateway Livestock Exchange. In this week’s episode of the... Read More
There are lots of things we are always keeping our eyes on in the cattle markets, but today, our eyes are on the fed cattle markets. Since our last Beef Market Update with Anne Wasko, of the Gateway Livestock Exchange, the U.S. markets have taken a bit of a dive, while in western Canada we... Read More
If you’ve been following along with the cattle markets, you’ll know the choice cut out has faced some extreme gains over the past five weeks. Naturally, it makes sense that the markets are going to take a bit of a breather, says Anne Wasko, of the Gateway Livestock Exchange, but that doesn’t mean we are... Read More
Believe it or not, winter is going to quickly come to an end, and cattle markets are picking up on this. As we pass mid-February, the seasonality in the cutout price is starting to pick up, says Anne Wasko, of the Gateway Livestock Exchange, as we make it through the lull of January and February.... Read More
If you ask Beef Market Update host, Shaun Haney, what he is seeing and hearing this week at the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association conference (NCBA), he will say that despite profitability concerns across the cattle industry, there’s an encouraging amount of optimism going on. Also Anne Wasko, of the Gateway Livestock Exchange, is not at... Read More
It’s been a mild January so far in Saskatchewan, where star of the Beef Market Update, Anne Wasko of the Gateway Livestock Exchange, is reporting from today. Wasko joins guest host Lyndsey Smith this week to discuss cattle prices in the U.S., Western Canada, cattle-on-feed numbers, Canadian kill prices, and more. Check out the full... Read More
Beef and cattle markets south of the border started the year off steady and on solid footing, which is good news at the wholesale level. Does this steady market offer a suggestion of what’s to come? For this first Beef Market Update of 2023, Anne Wasko, of the Gateway Livestock Exchange, joins Shaun Haney to... Read More
When it comes to the Canadian cattle industry, 2022 may not be quiet as reviled as 2021 and its extreme drought, but it’s unlikely to rank in the top five best years for many. While the year definitely shows well in the cattle prices category, it’s the profit and loss statement that really tells the... Read More
It’s not often, and never a good thing, when the basis drops lower than the temperature. Anne Wasko, with the Gateway Livestock Exchange, says that the chilly basis in Western Canada, currently at about -30 to the U.S. cash market, is certainly reason for cattle feeders to look forward to a calendar flip. “It is... Read More
It’s Thanksgiving weekend in the U.S., which can be a big weekend for the cattle markets, as we swing into the full holiday season. This statement proved true this week as it was a very positive week in the U.S. cattle markets. What has happened, and how does this translate into the Canadian markets? Anne... Read More
Looking south, overseas, and here at home, the beef market looks steady, good, and, well, not bad. For this week’s Beef Market Update, Anne Wasko of the Gateway Livestock Exchange, starts with a recap of what’s happening in the U.S., where fed cattle held steady again this week. The wholesale market has peaked, likely, after... Read More
It’s spooky season, and Anne Wasko of the Gateway Livestock Exchange is ready with her witch’s hat (to be worn with the grandkids, of course). As we approach Halloween, it’s no surprise for the west of the country to experience snow (after all, what would be Halloween in Canada without snowsuits under costumes), and Wasko’s... Read More
Not for the first time this year, the Canadian and U.S. cattle market are out of sync. As Anne Wasko explains in this week’s episode of the Beef Market Update, it’s becoming a bit of a frustrating topic, as she had hoped we wouldn’t still be talking about it in October. Check out the full... Read More
This weeks’ episode of the Beef Market Update is coming to you from the back of a horse, which is likely as authentic as we can get while we’re talking cattle markets. Anne Wasko of the Gateway Livestock Exchange is moving cattle, as yes, we approach October. In the U.S., Wasko says this week is... Read More
September is seasonally not a stand out time for beef prices, yet we are starting to see some prices trend in a positive direction as the U.S. may be on the heels of another record year for beef production. Anne Wasko with the Gateway Livestock Exchange says to date, the U.S. beef production is running... Read More
September has started off on a bit lower of a note in the cash cattle trade. Which, given the time of the year, isn’t all that surprising. According to Anne Wasko, of the Gateway Livestock Exchange, U.S. fed cattle was down to $141 in the south for live trade, while the northern states sat in... Read More
August is starting out with an optimistic undertone in the cattle markets with fed cattle prices faring better than analysts may have predicted. In the southern U.S., prices are rounding out around $1 higher at $136 towards weeks end, whereas the north is holding a premium at $142 to $146 and their dressed market is... Read More
As we approach the back half of July (!!), what many consider the dog days of summer, have arrived. It seems the cattle markets would agree. In the southern U.S., Texas trade is sitting lower than it has been, at $136, says Anne Wasko, in this week’s Beef Market Update. In the northern U.S., it’s... Read More
Seeing as we’ve just closed out on the first half of 2022, we’re diving into overall beef production for the first half of the year on this week’s episode of the Beef Market Update. In Canada, beef production was up another 3 per cent, says Anne Wasko, of the Gateway Livestock Exchange, between fed cattle... Read More
After a dreary few weeks, we’re starting this episode of the Beef Market Update on a positive note. Anne Wasko, of the Gateway Livestock Exchange, says on her ranch in southwest Saskatchewan, they got some rain, and hey, the markets are on the way up. The markets started out this week slow, but quickly picked... Read More
Stagflation, inflation, rising food costs…these are all factors that are creating murky waters in front of beef demand, if you look at the rest of the 2022 calendar year. Anne Wasko of the Gateway Livestock Exchange says in our latest Beef Market Update, that even if you look at live cattle futures, and live cattle... Read More
The U.S. cattle market was steady again this week, continuing to chop, chop, chop sideways, with cut out prices climbing slightly, though still at sluggish pace. Here in Canada, the average weekly price is in the low 170s, and, according to Canfax, that’s the first time since 2017 the weekly average has held in this... Read More
With May long weekends quickly approaching, many are starting to have barbecuing on the brain, which of course – is good news for the beef market. We definitely have enough supply for people to “chew” through…but the price on the shelves is certainly still high enough. So where is demand? Anne Wasko, of the Gateway... Read More
It’s no surprise that many cattle feeders are still facing negative margins. The combination of negative margins and a basis wider than we would like to see have created a question for many, says Anne Wasko of the Gateway Livestock Exchange. From the producers’ perspective, what do we need to do to make this basis... Read More
When we look at the cost of gain, it’s historically high. As Anne Wasko of the Gateway Livestock Exchanger explains in our latest Beef Market Update, we have reached record highs for cost of gain — with the second highest year on record being last year. “We’re in this environment, the last two years, where... Read More
As the calendar makes its way through March, Anne Wasko, of the Gateway Livestock Exchange, says we are running short on time for a surprise spring rally. On the demand side, things are looking really good. However, it’s posing a bit of a problem, as it’s not translating to the cash cattle side, do to... Read More
As the situation continues to unravel in Ukraine, many in the agricultural industry are following the markets, and trying to get a handle on the impacts. This week’s Beef Market Update is no different. Anne Wasko of the Gateway Livestock Exchange says we have often talked about uncertainty and volatility in the last few years... Read More
It’s a good news, complicated news, good news sandwich for this week’s Beef Market Update with Anne Wasko of the Gateway Livestock Exchange. The good news comes in the form of cash prices, which showed strength this week, up about $2, putting south Texas and Kansas numbers around $142. In the north, numbers hit between... Read More
This episode of the Beef Market Update comes to you from Houston, Texas, as Anne Wasko of the Gateway Livestock Exchange reviews the events of the past week, down at the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association (NCBA) convention. To start off, Wasko says it was a good week for the U.S. cattlemen to be together, as... Read More
2021 won’t be forgotten anytime soon in the cattle world. The January 1, 2022, Cattle on Feed report from CanFax showed a 12 per cent increase in the number of cattle on feed from a year ago, with placements down a bit. As Anne Wasko of the Gateway Livestock Exchange explains in our latest Beef... Read More
With the rise of the omicron variant, we’re watching COVID-19 once again disrupt the supply chain. Anne Wasko of the Gateway Livstock Exchange says the markets are looking a bit defensive this week — especially the futures market. “We can see some of the slaughter disruptions that are going on with the absenteeism from COVID.... Read More
We don’t have to say it twice: it’s been a frustrating year for many involved in the cattle community. As Anne Wasko of the Gateway Livestock Exchange explains in our latest Beef Market Update, the impacts of the 2021 drought won’t easily be forgotten, and and it’s not something that’s just going to go away.... Read More
In this week’s Beef Market Update, Anne Wasko of the Gateway Livestock Exchange breaks down the beef markets, including what’s going on in the U.S., whether or not their tides have permanently turned for choice cut-outs and choice select prices, and how western Canadian numbers are faring in comparison. The U.S. didn’t take a lot... Read More
The temperatures may be headed downwards and winter is on its way, but beef cattle prices aren’t going to be following that trend. “We’ve had another super week in the U.S. in terms of cash trade,” says Anne Wasko of the Gateway Livestock Exchange, in this week’s Beef Market Update. “Last week the market started... Read More
As November approaches quickly, many are asking where cattle producers are at with fall run, and what the market is looking like this year. Anne Wasko of the Gateway Livestock Exchange explains in our latest Beef Market Update that in order to understand where the market is with cows coming to town, we need to... Read More
There’s a lot happening in the cattle markets as we hit mid-October (?!) already. Anne Wasko of the Gateway Livestock Exchange says the markets south of the border have held mostly steady, at around $124 for live cattle in the south, and $124-$125 in the north, while noting the cutout drop-off we are still seeing.... Read More
How many calves are left for the fall run? The answer could be more than usual; however, with the dry conditions in 2021, it’s also possible the very early start to the run means there are fewer calves left to come to town. The answer to where the fall run volume — and prices —... Read More
This week was a bit of a wild ride in the markets following the JBS fire that occured in Granville Island, Nebraska. The plant — that has the capacity to process 6,000 head of cattle a day — is now back up and running, but it has many asking “how does this impact the cattle... Read More
As Anne Wasko, of the Gateway Livestock Exchange puts it, here in Canada “cattle slaughter has been outstanding.” Following some really good weeks, total Canadian harvests hit 72,400 this week, as Wasko explains in this week’s Beef Market Update. “Breaking that down into young cattle and cows, the steer and heifer kill is basically 63,000.... Read More
Starting this week’s episode of the Beef Market Update with Anne Wasko of the Gateway Livestock Exchange, is some positivity when it comes to trading fat cattle in both the U.S. and Western Canada. In the southern U.S., the fats are trading around the $122 mark, with the northern states around the $126-$128 mark, says... Read More
It’s been the story for weeks, but unfortunately, still a big one — there are large parts of the country that are facing drought, and it is severely impacting the beef industry. Seeing as this is the Beef Market Update, it wouldn’t be natural if we didn’t talk the price side of all of this... Read More
There’s a lot of ground to cover in this week’s Beef Market Update, including price activity, cut-out value, demand, cash prices, and more. Anne Wasko of Gateway Livestock Exchange joins host Shaun Haney to break down all these topics. In the U.S., prices are still doing a see-saw action and the market’s held on remarkably... Read More
If you’ve been following the cattle markets, you’ll know that this week the Alberta fed cattle market lost some ground. This kind of behaviour is not exceptionally strange for a July cattle market, says Anne Wasko of the Gateway Livestock Exchange in the latest episode of the Beef Market Update. However, the market lost another... Read More
It seems to be par for the course that the cattle markets are doing a little bit of everything these days. Anne Wasko of the Gateway Livestock Exchange says from a price perspective, the U.S. market is up and the Alberta market is down. “In the U.S., most of the trade is in the north,... Read More
On previous episodes of the Beef Market Update, you’ve heard Anne Wasko of the Gateway Livestock Exchange talk about the cattle hangover that is going on in the fed cattle market. Well, we’ve got some good news: we are on our way out. Wasko says although the U.S. is getting on its feet too, the... Read More
It’s been another steady week for cash cattle trade in both the U.S. and Canada. Anne Wasko of the Gateway Livestock Exchange says that in the U.S., trade has been at $118-$119, and around $187-$191 dressed, while the storyline from previous weeks for cutout values continues. “Choice closed last night at $330 USD, which is... Read More
When it comes to summing up this past week in the beef market, Anne Wasko of the Gateway Livestock Exchange says there are two stories to look at when it comes to the cash market. In the U.S., the cash market didn’t really come up, unfortunately — it’s still sitting around that $119 mark. However,... Read More
This cattle market is something right now, to say the least. Demand has been fantastic — exports are strong, and domestic consumption is there, and yet it’s not making its way back to the primary producer in terms of pricing, creating a frustrating situation for feeders. Anne Wasko of the Gateway Livestock Exchange says that... Read More
A lot is happening in the beef business right now, but we’re going to start off this week’s edition of the Beef Market Update with what is top of mind for many producers: revenue. Anne Wasko of the Gateway Livestock Exchange says the U.S. cash trade has been steady this week, but it follows on... Read More
It’s Thursday, and as we head into the Easter long weekend, we’re doing the Beef Market Update a day early. To start off, Anne Wasko of the Gateway Livestock Exchange says she has better news to report than two weeks ago based on the cash price — which seems to have some solid footing for... Read More
Many cattle feeders may be describing this year as one of the most disappointing cash markets they’ve seen in a long time, especially given the demand that is out there right now. “Stuck” is the word host Shaun Haney is using to describe it, while Anne Wasko of the Gateway Livestock Exchange is using “frustrating”... Read More
It’s time for another Beef Market Update, and since StatsCan recently released the January 1 numbers, we’re going to focus on inventory today. Anne Wasko of the Gateway Livestock Exchange says that there wasn’t really anything of surprise in the numbers, as the pattern of a contracting beef cow herd in Canada continues. “We did... Read More
If you’ve been paying attention to any form of media lately, chances are you’ve seen what is happening down in Texas with the weather. Pictures of burst pipes, a lack of heating, and all things frozen have been circulating across social media. Anne Wasko of the Gateway Livestock Exchange says she’s been following stories, and... Read More
There were big numbers in the beef market this past month for pricing, carcass weights, and harvest rates. Anne Wasko of the Gateway Livestock Exchange breaks it down for us in this Beef Market Update. As Wasko explains, the U.S. cash side of the market is a little higher again this week, landing at $114/cwt... Read More
We’re starting this Beef Market Update off on a positive note: retail demand. Retail sales are looking really strong as we head into the last week (?!) of January — and about a month out of the holiday season, notes Anne Wasko of the Gateway Livestock Exchange. As she explains, there is usually a bit... Read More
It’s the early days of 2021, but we’re hoping for a great year in the beef markets. Will that be the case? Anne Wasko of the Gateway Livestock Exchange says although we are are off to a bit of a slow start, the futures market is telling us change is coming. Markets are in what... Read More
Each year, Shaun Haney asks Anne Wasko of the Gateway Livestock Exchange what wishes she’d grant for the cattle markets if she could. (Don’t look back at what she wished for 2020, who could have predicted 2020?) If Santa is in the business of delivering some big-picture gifts for 2021, here’s what Wasko wants: Better... Read More
It’s been a mild December so far across the country, and although we will need some more moisture on the ground before the spring, most are sure enjoying it right now. Anne Wasko of the Gateway Livestock Exchange couldn’t agree more. And although the weather may be making us happy, the cattle market has been tough... Read More
It’s U.S. Thanksgiving week, and it felt like a bit of an odd week with the markets being closed on Thursday and partially open on Friday. However, never fear — we’ve still got the Beef Market Update for you! Anne Wasko of the Gateway Livestock Exchange says that because of the holiday, the U.S. did... Read More
September beef export trade data is in, and, following a good July and August, the numbers are a bit disappointing. “We’ve been talking about trade a lot because we know both the U.S. and Canada have a pile of beef that we need to get through, and obviously export markets are an important piece of... Read More
To say the futures market took a bit of a nosedive this week would not be an exaggeration. It has, however, been doing its best to try to recover some of those losses. Anne Wasko of the Gateway Livestock Exchange says in the latest Beef Market Update that the moves have been very volatile lately.... Read More
Many ranches across the prairies are getting into the weening season, which can mean only one thing — the weather is changing, and it’s changing rapidly. The weather isn’t the only thing that has been cooling down though — December live cattle futures dropped significantly over the past week, as Anne Wasko, of the Gateway... Read More
If you’re new around here, the Beef Market Update’s goal is to provide the most current information on beef exports, pricing, carcass weights, and boxed beef prices. Every second Friday, Anne Wasko of the Gateway Livestock Exchange joins us to cover what’s happening in markets both in Canada and the U.S. This week, U.S. trade... Read More
Chop and grind in the markets isn’t really the kind of headline you want to hear for the beef markets, but maybe chop and grind means good things for prices. “U.S. markets trading about a buck higher than how they closed the end of last week, so $103, $104 in the north, heading the right... Read More
The fed cattle market is off a bit, but that’s no surprise as we’re getting closer to flipping the season to fall, and as September rolls around. For this week’s Beef Market Update, Anne Wasko, from Gateway Livestock Exchange, joins us this week from a bit of vacation time on the west coast before the fall... Read More
When we last heard from Anne Wasko of the Gateway Livestock Exchange — about three weeks ago — demand was looking pretty good, and looking into the future, it looked exceptional. Now, sitting in the future, we can safely say demand for beef is working its magic, and working at a strong pace. “It’s been... Read More
Cattle prices are holding steady for most of the U.S. and Western Canada on strong wholesale demand. Ranchers, too, are cautiously optimistic as pasture and hay supplies are good and calf prices have been holding steady. It’s not all sunshine and green grass, however, says Anne Wasko of Gateway Livestock Exchange, as there are still... Read More
This week’s Beef Market Update might be the most positive report we’ve posted in three very long months. In this week’s episode, Anne Wasko of the Gateway Livestock Exchange joins Shaun Haney to catch up on the early summer numbers ahead of a holiday weekend. To start off in the green, Canadian slaughter data for... Read More
Fresh off of one of the biggest barbecue weekends of the year in Canada and headed into another in the United States, the cattle market is paying close attention to retail sales and the effect on prices throughout the supply chain. At the same time, processing capacity has started to return following slowdowns and shutdowns... Read More
We’ve made it through another rough week, and as Anne Wasko of the Gateway Livestock Exchange says in this Beef Market Update, “thank goodness.” We know it’s been a tough go the past few weeks. Every day seems to be worse and worse, but as more packing plants begin to re-open, the worst seems to... Read More
The value of beef cutouts has reached record highs over the last few days, as packing plant capacity has been reduced by shutdowns in the U.S. and Canada. At the same time, those shutdowns have put immense pressure on cash cattle prices. “In the U.S. for the cash cattle that are trading, they are going... Read More
It’s been a difficult last few weeks in the livestock markets, to say the least. For much of the time we are all focused on making the right decision, but what has been weighing heavily on a lot of people lately has been trying not to make the wrong decision. A wrong decision in the... Read More
Just two short weeks ago, no one was really sure what was ahead for the COVID-19 virus lockdown and social distancing — but now cities are ghost towns, and grocery store shelves and coolers are suspiciously absent of some key items; beef, pork, and chicken among them. A flurry of retail buying may have emptied... Read More
What a week. Frankly, the last week and even two weeks has been wild enough — let alone the last 24 hours — as the impact of COVID-19 makes its way into North American travel bans, the stock market, oil prices, the Canadian dollar and more. The volatility has been extreme. Anne Wasko, of the... Read More
If you’re looking for good news, you may not find it in the cattle markets this week. Mounting concerns over the spread of coronavirus and the global economy are starting to play a significant role. Anne Wasko of the Gateway Livestock Exchange is considering this a black swan event akin to the fire in Kansas... Read More
In a stroke of good luck, both Anne Wasko of Gateway Livestock Exchange and Shaun Haney, host of RealAg Radio, were in San Antonio, TX this week to take in the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association’s annual convention. That means this edition of the Beef Market Update is a very special in-person recording, which makes the... Read More
In a world market where volatility is the name of the game, “steady” is probably more positive than negative. And that’s about where we are for this first full month of 2020, says Anne Wasko of Gateway Livestock Exchange. Nearly across the board — and across the border — prices are steady, cut out is... Read More
The final numbers are starting to roll in for 2019 beef markets, and it appears that Canada is well-positioned for another good year. In this episode of the Beef Market Update, RealAgriculture’s Shaun Haney and Gateway Livestock’s Anne Wasko take a walk through 2019, considering the impacts of African swine fever, and where Canadian beef... Read More
As the year winds down, the U.S. cattle market is showing strength, even with a seasonal pull back in prices, and a return to full processing capacity. Canada has been enjoying record exports to Japan, with continued demand for high quality, high grading product. But as we look ahead to the new year, it’s the... Read More
Fresh off a big trip to New Zealand representing the Canadian Roundtable for Sustainable Beef, Anne Wasko, of Gateway Livestock Exchange, is back for a Beef Market Update. (Read more about Anne’s experience at the Global Roundtable for Sustainable Beef here) Here in the northern hemisphere, it was another good week in the U.S., with... Read More
It may just be the story we look back on for cattle markets in 2019 – both the United States and Canada have produced more beef, while at the same time, wholesale prices remain high. “That is a good news story. I don’t think we better get complacent though,” says Gateway Livestock Exchange’s Anne Wasko,... Read More
While futures markets may be taking a bit of a breather, beef markets are holding strong, with trade into the U.S. and Japan up as well. “Well certainly markets in the U.S. have still been on an up-trend on the cash side,” says Anne Wasko, of the Gateway Livestock Exchange, in this episode of the... Read More
While choice cut out has come back down from its post-fire rally, the U.S. cattle markets are trending upwards after bottoming out roughly three weeks ago, says Gateway Livestock Exchange’s Anne Wasko. “Markets are making a move back up as far as cash cattle are concerned, so that’s good news following everything that happened back... Read More
Beef markets are struggling for reasons beyond the usual annual low, as they search for information on when Tyson’s Kansas plant will be back up and running. South of the border, markets have continued lower for the last six weeks, with cut-outs backing off (but still way over a year ago), due to perceived disruption... Read More
This week’s Beef Market Update starts with one central question: What is going on with this cash market? Anne Wasko, of the Gateway Livestock Exchange, joins RealAg Radio host Shaun Haney to help answer this question, because, as Haney notes, many are disappointed with where the market is currently sitting. Wasko says that the impact... Read More
It’s been a busy week in the beef markets, impacted largely by growing North American beef and pork supplies, spotty feed availability, and the August 9th fire at Tyson’s beef processing plant in Kansas. Regular RealAgriculture guest Anne Wasko of the Gateway Livestock Exchange spent some of her week in Calgary, at the Canadian Beef... Read More
The calendar has flipped into August and cattle producers are looking forward to the fall yearling and feeder run. During the past week, live cattle struggled to gain momentum but ended up fairing better than lean hogs in the face of heavy selling of pork futures. There is a lot of pressure on hogs due... Read More
Barbecues may be firing up for the summer and worldwide protein demand may be holding steady, but the price of fed cattle isn’t quite so hot. “Not exactly exciting news – prices are lower – but…I would also point to the fact that we’ve got considerably more beef being produced this year in both countries,”... Read More
Beef markets this week felt the pressure of the Chinese request to suspend beef and pork exports from Canada. “It was a growing market that certainly our sellers of beef were focusing on,” says Anne Wasko, of the Gateway Livestock Exchange. “So when you have that close overnight, markets obviously this week have been in... Read More
Despite last Friday’s bullish Cattle on Feed report out of the U.S., markets on Monday opened with little impact, says Anne Wasko of the Gateway Livestock Exchange, in today’s Beef Market Update. The report listed the May 1 inventory of cattle and calves on feed for the slaughter market as the highest since the series... Read More
The May long weekend is the official kick off to the summer barbecue season, but the wet, cool weather trend doesn’t look like it’s going to let up for much of the country. Will this deter beef consumption? Will African swine fever’s impact on the hog markets boost beef retail sales through competitive pricing? Not... Read More
In this week’s Beef Market Update, Gateway Livestock Exchange’s Anne Wasko joins host Lyndsey Smith to talk about fed cattle markets, Canadian beef production demand, protein markets, and price insurance. “Usually by May, we can safely say in about eight or nine years out of ten, you’ve likely placed the highs for our fed cattle... Read More
Rumours of pretty strong Canadian beef exporter numbers for early 2019 weren’t an exaggeration as Statistics Canada’s official numbers puts January exports at a pedal to the metal pace. Confirming what the market heard anecdotally, StatsCan says beef exports to the Asia region in January were up 22 per cent year-over-year. Japan accounted for a... Read More
While we anxiously await early 2019 statistics, the final 2018 export numbers are in and, when it comes to beef, the numbers are solid. In this week’s Beef Market Update, Gateway Livestock Exchange’s Anne Wasko joins stand-in host Lyndsey Smith to talk about what’s lifting live cattle prices. You don’t have to look much farther... Read More
It’s that time of year when thousands of members of the cattle industry get together for the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association cattle conventions. This year’s event was at New Orleans, Louisiana, in the heart of a great city known for its cajun cuisine, late nights, and the most flamboyant of costumes. RealAgriculture’s cattle analyst Anne... Read More
How quickly the weather can turn, as just the beginning of this week the winter weather in Saskatchewan was mild — but by the end of the week, Anne Wasko, of the Gateway Livestock Exchange, was bundled up battling the deep freeze at the Saskatchewan Beef Industry Conference held in Regina. That’s where we kick off... Read More
To wrap up the year, RealAg Radio host Shaun Haney and Anne Wasko, of Gateway Livestock Exchange, take a look at the beef markets for the last time in 2018. It’s still a push to get to live cattle to get to $120/cwt by the end of the year says Wasko, adding that just last... Read More
It’s been a quiet week on the cash market. According to Anne Wasko, of Gateway Livestock Exchange, she calls it a bit of a “see-saw week” as the U.S. Thanksgiving weekend just wrapped up. “There’s bids out there that are kind of similar to last week, at $116 from southern U.S. cattle feeders, and $119 or higher, so... Read More
On the verge of winter, ranchers are in full winter prep mode, feedlots are full, and Canadian packers are going at full steam. Cash markets, however, are a little light on action, and to talk about what that’s about, RealAg Radio host Shaun Haney checks in with Anne Wasko, with Gateway Livestock Exchange. In this edition... Read More
The fall calf run is rolling and prices have been steady, and sometimes steady is really good. For five months or more, prices have held strong bucking the trend of somewhere during the calf run we stub our toe, either because of weather or logistics or some other issue. What’s more, says Anne Wasko, of... Read More
The U.S. report for cattle on feed for September first was six per cent higher than a year ago according to Anne Wasko, of Gateway Livestock. And that’s something, as it was a bit bigger of a number than what the industry was expecting. “It’s because the August placement number was up seven per cent from... Read More
July was a strong month in the beef market both for the U.S. and Canada according to Anne Wasko, market analyst with Gateway Livestock Exchange. “On the U.S. front, strong pork and beef exports continue to be the story,” she says adding that in July alone, beef exports from the U.S. to the rest of the... Read More
You might be forgiven for thinking that every fall is the same when it comes to cattle leaving the summer range and heading off to the auction ring. Every fall is different and every fall farmers study the markets to see how they can best react to what they see coming up. Anne Wasko, market... Read More
Excessive heat has taken its toll on pastures, hay supplies, and water consumption for cattle, and while this may not be a big market issue today, Anne Wasko, of Gateway Livestock, says that these factors will mean an earlier, stronger fall run. That’s just one of the topics discussed in this week’s Beef Market Update.... Read More
As our beef market expert Anne Wasko puts it, ‘It was the dog days of summer —but for the beef industry’ last week. It was a quiet trade week, and the cattle that did trade looked about $2 lower than the average price this year — however, it’s not a big surprise due to the... Read More
It’s been a volatile couple of weeks in cattle futures, with the market giving back most of last week’s gains in the last few days. Meanwhile, cash prices in Western Canada have remained strong, reports Anne Wasko in this latest Beef Market Update, with average prices for fed cattle getting back into the mid-150s in Alberta.... Read More
When the live cattle futures are limit up, it’s a good day for cattle feeders. In these turbulent trade war times, any of the commodities will take a positive day. Cattle futures have been somewhat separated from the downward swing of soybeans, lean hogs, and wheat, but sometimes commodities are guilty by association. The table... Read More
Through the spring of 2018, we have talked about several common themes for the cattle markets that impact the fundamentals of this market. Even though Live Cattle futures finished up over $2 on Friday, the trade has been quite choppy, which gives traders little confidence that we are headed higher from here. Here is a... Read More
It has been a busy week in the cattle markets, as Canada and the United States are on the brink of a trade war that we would not have imagined a year ago. Much of that is out of the control of feedyard owners and ranchers, but the impacts will most certainly be felt, depending... Read More
Live cattle led the futures market lower this past week, with cash prices in tow, thanks to large supplies hitting the market. Cash cattle values in Canada fell by ten to 12 dollars, while U.S. prices were five to six dollars lower on the week. What’s frustrating for beef producers is demand and retail prices... Read More
The beef markets are riding an unusually high basis in both Canada and the United States, but that’s set to change. “So over the next eight weeks — between now and when June goes off — we will see the two converge,” says Gateway Livestock’s Anne Wasko, adding that in 2015 basis was +20 when... Read More
A strong basis in Canada and the U.S. is prompting cattle feeders to sell sooner than later, and at lower weights. “When you pick up cattle prices in the South Plains $3-5 from last week — 121/122 — and the futures dropped as we’ve seen, you continue to get this widening spread,” says Anne Wasko of... Read More
Whether we’re talking calving or barbecuing, it’s not ideal when temperatures are 20 degrees below their seasonal normal. The delayed onset of spring is not doing ranchers any favours, with calves hitting the ground in difficult conditions this spring (if we can call it that). At the same time, with large cattle supplies hitting the... Read More
As a snowstorm bears down on the prairies just in time for spring calving, the cattle markets continue their slide downwards, and futures markets try to figure out how low they have to go to clear additional product in the value chain. That’s where we start this week’s discussion from Beef Market Update analyst Anne... Read More
Statistics Canada has confirmed once again that Canadian cattle producers are not following their American counterparts in expanding the beef herd. The federal agency published its January 1, 2018, inventory report this week, and Anne Wasko, of Gateway Livestock, walks us through the numbers in this Beef Market Update. First of all, for the not-so-analytical... Read More
Cattle markets have remained strong, although we saw a technical correction lower on the futures market this week. “Maybe we’re getting a little numb to it, but futures markets continue to be extremely explosive whenever they tend to move. Up until this week, the market’s been building to recent highs, but futures markets, led by... Read More
Though you may not be able to tell from the last week of quiet trading, it’s been a busy month for the cattle markets. On January 31, the United States Department of Agriculture released its cattle inventory report for January 1, showing a one percent increase in all cattle and calves in the U.S. compared to... Read More
The Bank of Canada raised the overnight rate target to 1.25 percent this week, with a cautionary note that touched on the uncertainty around the North America Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). The announcement caused brief volatility in the Canadian dollar, but will this change, or the one or two other hikes expected by economists affect cattle... Read More
Cattle markets are kicking off 2018 like it’s 2017, with strong prices and a strong basis in Western Canada, in spite of a higher Canadian dollar. Factoring the jump in the Alberta fat cattle market last week to around C$167, the loonie rising over 80 cents, and a U.S. price of around $123, the spot... Read More
While much of the focus on beef has been on international negotiations, Gateway LIvestock’s Anne Wasko brings the numbers a little closer to home, in the Beef Market Update with host Shaun Haney. The United States saw great numbers for October exports, says Wasko, with “beef was up 13 percent from a year ago, pork... Read More
Cattle markets have dropped off their highs from a few weeks ago, but they’re still well ahead of where they were last year at this time. The February live cattle contract, for example, is up 28 percent in the last year. “We’ve had solid markets all the way around,” says Anne Wasko of Gateway Livestock... Read More
Live cattle futures have found reasons to rally since early September, even in the face of large placements in a bearish cattle on feed report last week. It’s a combination of market fundamentals — profitable margins, lower carcass weights, and strong demand — driving the market out of the lows set around Labour Day, says... Read More
There’s a flavour for strong beef demand in the country, says Anne Wasko, market analyst with Gateway Livestock, which has producers feeling good about market positioning. Last week’s slaughter report showed a 6.3 percent increase in animals killed in federally inspected plants in Canada, when compared to last year at this time. It’s good news... Read More
Last week’s Cattle on Feed report, published by the United States Department of Agriculture, listed a 4 percent increase in cattle and calves on feed for the slaughter market, when compared to September 1, 2016. In August, placements totalled 1.93 million head, up 3 percent from 2016. “There was a bearish surprise to the placement,”... Read More
A changing supply environment has the second half of 2017 shaping up much differently for cattle markets than the first. “Already things are changing. If you’re in Canada, you’re well aware — and we’ve talked about this all year long — we’ve been in this strong basis environment where Canadian prices, because we’re tight on... Read More
Unfortunately cash dropped again this week which is making things frustrating for cattle feeders. In the last three months the December live cattle future is down 7.22% and is 10.52% off of the highs. Cash dropped another three dollars this week after losing five dollars the week before. On Friday, the the December contract closed... Read More
It’s a tale of two different markets when you look at the Canadian cattle business versus what’s happening in the U.S. where feeders are anticipating a bigger calf crop this fall. Western Canadian feeders are looking at the same kind of numbers in terms of supply as last year, notes Anne Wasko in this latest... Read More
Lower cattle prices due to big supplies, a Canadian dollar up over 80 cents U.S., and drought causing higher feed costs — Canadian cattle feeders are hunkering down as we turn the calendar into August. “If I’m a producer at the other end of the spectrum, as far as a cow-calf producer or grass operator,... Read More
After sliding for the last few weeks, the cattle market clawed back some ground this week, in U.S. dollar terms, at least. As Anne Wasko of Gateway Livestock notes in our latest Beef Market Update, the basis for Canadian cattle values has quietly flipped. “Instead of our cash cattle prices trading above the U.S. equivalent... Read More
With big supplies looming in fall, we’ve seem some huge movement on the cash market for cattle over the last eight weeks. Going back to early May, bids in Alberta topped out at around 190. This week they were in the low 150s, notes Anne Wasko in this latest Beef Market Update with Shaun Haney.... Read More
The cattle market has had more than a few surprises lately. After maintaining momentum to the upside longer than expected, the market saw a quick adjustment to the downside this week, as Anne Wasko highlights in this latest Beef Market Update. “Not that the downtrend wasn’t expected, we’re heading into the summer. We’ve had a... Read More
As the smell of barbecue fills the air in many neighbourhoods, this is normally the time of year when cattle market highs are well behind us. But the market moved against that trend this week, as live and feeder cattle futures, as well as cash prices, climbed higher. In this week’s edition of the Beef... Read More
Two weeks ago we were talking about higher highs and no where to go but down for the cattle market and thats exactly what we got. The market corrected over the past two weeks which could be fine long term technically. What has hurt Canadian feedyards is that the Canadian dollar has rallied over that... Read More
It was a wild and crazy run for the cattle markets this week, and the weekend could be the breather that funds and feedyards need. June live cattle finished the week up 3.45 percent, even with the severe limit down drop on Friday. In the last three months June cattle are up 21.44 percent, which... Read More
The cattle markets have seen two weeks of strong futures gains, which is bringing smiles to the faces of cattle feeders. With carcass weights lower in Canada and the United States, they’re are current and looking to fill empty pens as the cash market rises. The summer of 2016 is still fresh in cattle feeders minds... Read More
With Brazil locked in a major bribery scandal that has closed most of its export markets for beef and chicken, the cattle market scrambles to understand the full situation. Brazil is the number one exporter of chicken in the world (40%) which means if borders are shut long term, chicken supplies will be extremely tight,... Read More
We’re kicking off the Beef Market Update with likely the most positive-sounding Anne Wasko we’ve heard since last spring (it’s not her fault, dem cattle markets, you guys). Kelvin Heppner steps in for Shaun Haney in this latest look at beef and cattle prices across Canada and into the U.S., and Wasko can’t help but... Read More
This week’s Beef Market Update isn’t just special because it’s festive, it’s also a rare ladies-only affair as Lyndsey Smith steps in for Shaun Haney this week as host. As always, Anne Wasko, of Gateway Livestock, fills us in on what’s top of mind for the cattle industry markets this week. From the Canadian cattle... Read More
It’s Agribition week in Regina, and Shaun Haney is there to take in all there is to see (and smell!). He managed to eek out enough time to catch up with Anne Wasko, of Gateway Livestock Exchange, for another edition of the Beef Market Update. Wasko starts with the recent USDA cattle on feed report that ended up... Read More
In the last month, live cattle prices have finally stabilized and it’s welcome relief for everyone in the cattle business. Fundamentally, what is supporting this stability? According to Anne Wasko, with Gateway Livestock, there are tighter cattle supplies, cattle feeders are current, carcass weights are lower than a year ago for the first time since... Read More
In a strange turn of events, cattle prices actually moved up a few days in a row. What’s going on? Was Friday’s cattle-on-feed report that supportive? Have retail prices finally pulled back and demand is climbing? To delve into what’s at work in the cattle markets, we go, as always, to Anne Wasko of Gateway... Read More
While there have been a few days lately where cattle values have ended the day in the green, the trend is still headed lower. And quickly. Cattle futures are now at levels we haven’t seen since the fourth quarter of 2010. “We haven’t been here for a long time. We really weren’t expecting these levels this... Read More
Beef is facing stiff competition from other proteins as huge North American pork and poultry production is coinciding with big beef supplies. “We have issues on all sides of the fence. We’re looking at record production on both pork and poultry right in front of us,” explains Anne Wasko of Gateway Livestock in this Beef Market... Read More
With every bounce off of a new low in the cattle market, there’s hope prices have finally bottomed out. October live cattle futures in the U.S. have recovered by $7-8 in the last week, after dropping to around the $100 mark in the first week of September. “Hopefully we can look back, and I know... Read More
A frustrating summer has come to a head over the last few weeks, as already-weak cattle prices are on a streak lower. Cash prices in the U.S. have fallen to $110 per hundred weight, notes Anne Wasko of Gateway Livestock. “That’s the lowest they’ve been in five years, and that’s five bucks off of last... Read More
The inaugural Canadian Beef Industry Conference is underway in Calgary, Alberta this week, and this morning, RealAgriculture’s Shaun Haney and Gateway Livestock’s Anne Wasko took the opportunity to film a Beef Market Update in-person, in our studio on the trade-show floor. The duo started off talking about some of the good news in the industry, how we’re... Read More
With fat cattle prices in Alberta $40 lower than they were a year ago, the view from where the cattle feeders will be sitting come this fall’s sale season will look different than it did in 2015. “Estimated losses in July for cattle finishing in Alberta on a spot-to-spot basis are about $350 to the... Read More
It’s been an interesting week for market analysts. According to Gateway Livestock’s Anne Wasko, cattle prices had a tough week leading up to Friday, then “Brexit — the ‘leave’ victory — sort of sent markets into an upheaval.” Commodity Analysts, Traders and Media React to Brexit Decision The news that the United Kingdom had voted to leave... Read More
A big spike in the United States’ live cattle cash market left producers hopeful late last week. “In the south — down in Texas, Kansas — we had the market up three dollars, to $1.28 US,” explains Gateway Livestock’s Anne Wasko, in this week’s Beef Market Update (included below). “And the northern markets — Nebraska, Colorado,... Read More
Earlier this week, Brian Perillat, senior analyst with Canfax, joined Shaun Haney to talk about the May 1 cattle report. The report, published Sunday, showed on-feed numbers in Alberta and Saskatchewan up 8%. What caused the bump? “As Brian alluded in that last interview, the cattle that didn’t go south — the feeder cattle last fall... Read More
Retailers are enjoying this part of the beef cycle. Producers? Not so much. Cattle futures put in some new lows last week, as Anne Wasko of Gateway Livestock joins us for another Beef Market Update. With slaughter levels in the U.S. up around 10 percent for the last two weeks of April, there’s been a... Read More
Cattle feeding does take a true cast iron gut at times. Whether it is dollar exchange, feed costs or external political factors, the volatility in all the profit and loss variables is enough to drive you mad. In this weeks Beef Market Update Anne Wasko and Shaun Haney discuss the beef markets and how the... Read More
The first quarter of 2016 is in the books and it’s becoming clear the last two years in the cattle market were likely outliers. “Unfortunately it’s a reminder of what normal is. 2016 is nothing like 2014 and 2015 which were really bull markets that kept running through most of both years. That’s not the... Read More
Are we finally seeing signs of expansion in the Canadian beef herd? If you dig deep enough into Canadian cattle inventory report published by Statistics Canada last week, you might just be inclined to answer yes. The twice-a-year report showed total cattle and calf numbers across the country on January 1 were up just 0.3 percent... Read More
Cattle prices may not be where they were a year ago, but ranchers are generally still an optimistic bunch at current levels. Anne Wasko of Gateway Livestock joins us in the middle of her busy winter meeting circuit for this latest edition of the Beef Market Update. Domestically, the volatile Canadian dollar continues to play with... Read More
Anne Wasko of Gateway Livestock, in conversation with guest host Kelvin Heppner. . It’s an interesting time for cattle markets, with the Canadian dollar hitting record lows, weather in the United States putting pressure on supply estimates, and the recent repeal of country-of-origin labelling (COOL). In fact, as we start off the new year, we’re seeing a pretty... Read More
The beef price cycle certainly appears to have peaked, as Canadian cattle prices have dropped below year-ago levels in the last few weeks. Anne Wasko of Gateway Livestock and RealAg’s Shaun Haney try to look through the fog of what’s happening in the beef market, with dropping prices and increasing protein supplies across North America, in... Read More
In this episode of the Beef Market Update, Gateway Livestock’s Anne Wasko joins Shaun Haney in-studio for an update on the extreme volatility in the beef market since September. The duo talk about the changing market, sluggish U.S. exports, diminishing Canadian feeder cattle exports (down 67% since July) and the aggressive inventory expansion efforts of... Read More
Cattle markets, led by the futures in Chicago, took another tumble this week. “It’s been discouraging, disappointing, but again markets have shown us this this fall, when they make a move, it tends to be pretty violent or erratic,” says Anne Wasko of Gateway Livestock in this latest Beef Market Update. “We don’t seem to move... Read More
We’re not entirely sure how the Beef Market Update started and ended with turkey and the Jays, but the real meat of this week’s podcast centres around how fed cattle prices have dropped, with both the feeder and calf markets following suit. On what we can expect for the rest of the year in the... Read More
It’s an interesting market for beef producers. While fed cattle are still struggling to find their market low, feeder animals are well above last year’s prices. And cow/calf producers may be feeling relieved, but will good margins be enough to persuade herd expansion? We hand Shaun Haney a bar of soap for this mid-September edition of the Beef... Read More
Where were we just one year ago? The Canadian dollar sat at 92 cents U.S. and cattle prices were at all-time highs. Those price levels have since been passed, to everyone’s surprise, but the dollar has taken an absolute beating in just a year’s time. Anne Wasko, of Gateway Livestock, joins RealAgriculture’s Lyndsey Smith for... Read More
As summer begins its last hurrah and ranchers anticipate the fall run, the underlying factors of supply and demand are still supporting cattle prices. But very large, global shifts in markets and economic stability are causing all sorts of fallout for grain and oil markets — how long before those macro trends pressure cattle prices?... Read More
It’s tough to talk about the cattle markets and not focus solely on the demand side which, if we’re being honest, has been nothing short of impressive. But price is a function of two components — supply being the balance to demand. While Canada’s beef herd continues to contract, ranchers in the United States have... Read More
Anyone with an eye on mainstream media or the meat shelves in the grocery store won’t be surprised to hear that the average beef retail price has hit another record high, weighing in at $19.69/kg. “That’s up 3% from last month, but more importantly i think — this is what people are going to hone into... Read More
Rain doesn’t just make grain, it makes beef too, and much of Saskatchewan and Alberta is in desperate need of moisture to support the cattle out on grass. In this episode of the almost-in-person Beef Market Update, Anne Wasko, of Gateway Livestock, and Shaun Haney, of RealAgriculture, cover some serious ground, from the possible repealing... Read More
It’s been a big week for the beef industry, with news that the World Trade Organization has ruled against Country of Origin Labeling for a fourth and final time and the subsequent — almost immediate — introduction and approval of a bill to repeal it by the U.S. House Agriculture Committee. But, what does all of... Read More
The grass is greening up, the calves are hitting the ground and the steaks are about to hit barbeques across North America, even as cattle prices flirt with new record highs. There’s no way around it — it’s a great time to be a cattle producer in Canada. No one begrudges the cattle industry some... Read More
It’s looking more and more like spring in Western Canada, and cattle prices are continuing to impress with seasonal demand, tight supplies and an American dollar hovering around $0.80. In this, the latest episode of the Beef Market Update, Anne Wasko, with Gateway Livestock, talks to RealAgriculture’s Lyndsey Smith about prices across the border and here... Read More
It’s nearly the middle of March, but it feels more like May in many parts of Western Canada. Spring-like days with temps in the double digits for much of the southern areas of Alberta and Saskatchewan seem to have buoyed cattle markets, as it’s likely grass will be abundant and soon. That’s the latest Beef... Read More
While many ranchers and producers visibly cringed at the announced positive BSE case found in northern Alberta earlier this month, the cattle markets barely seemed to bat an eye. Why was that? A rather under the weather Anne Wasko, of Gateway Livestock, joins Real Agriculture’s Shaun Haney on this latest Beef Market Update to talk... Read More
Last week, the U.S. released its cattle inventory numbers for January 1, and, as expected, there was some growth of the cattle herd. The numbers were slightly higher than anticipated, but still make for a historically small cattle herd. What does it mean for cattle supplies going forward? And will the Canadian numbers follow the... Read More
If the first two weeks of 2015 are any indication for the rest of the year, volatility in cattle markets is the name of the game. From steep drops to quick run-ups yet again, the U.S. cash market and the wholesale side has already shown some real movement. The big questions for cattle producers and... Read More
It’s been a wild finish to a wild year in the beef market, with prices dropping off over the last few weeks from the record highs set in November. While feeder cattle futures dropped by the limit for five consecutive days in mid-December, producers should not lose sight of the fact there’s still strong fundamental support for high cattle... Read More
If beef prices at the retail level stay elevated, will consumers pick pork and poultry? Have we topped out on these cattle markets? It’s questions like these that many ranchers and feed yard operators have been thinking about, so in this special “Ask Annie” edition of the Beef Market Update, Shaun Haney went to the audience... Read More
How long can this lofty cattle market stick around? Have lower feed costs already been plugged in to cattle market prices? Will heavier-than-ideal carcass weights cause headaches through the value chain? Real Agriculture’s Shaun Haney and Anne Wasko, of Gateway Livestock Exchange, tackle those questions and whole lot more in this edition of the Beef... Read More
The volatility of the market is always a gut wrencher. The fundamentals of the beef market are still strong but the evidence of a correction this week was according to some very warranted. In this weeks Beef Market Udpate, Anne Wasko and Shaun Haney discuss this correction and the signs for the future. Additionally, Anne... Read More
It appears demand for beef has remained strong despite the high prices at the meat counter. As part of the latest RealAg Beef Market Update, Shaun Haney and Anne Wasko of Gateway Livestock Exchange discuss the recent rally in cattle futures and how demand for beef has held. “All the proteins have moved higher. Pork is... Read More
What a first seven months of the year for the cattle markets. Did anyone see the market having so much fuel to the upside like it did? But what about the second half of 2014. Get caught up on any of the Beef Market Updates you may have missed Shaun Haney and Anne Wasko discuss... Read More
There’s certainly no need to begrudge ranchers and feeders making money on cattle right now. After all, cattle markets rise and fall in waves, and it’s nice to be at the top now and again. Lower average cost of production coupled with strong demand and a tight supply have all aligned to create a profitable... Read More
It’s a refrain you can’t really ever tire of if you’re a cattle producer — cattle prices are up across the board, with no immediate end in sight. That’s not to say there isn’t downside risk in this bull market (pardon the pun), but supply, demand, export markets and more are all colliding to support these... Read More
In this weeks Beef Market Update with Anne Wasko, Shaun and Anne discuss the strong Western Canadian fed cattle market, a tight basis, strong retail prices / demand and ranchers waiting for the grass to green up. As per usual there is some fun as well. Anne has to console Shaun because he is devastated... Read More
We’re in the thick of calving season, and if the sight of healthy new calves frolicking doesn’t put a smile on your face, calf prices will. Year-over-year calf prices are rosy indeed, and the price improvements move all the way from calves, to cows, cow/calf pairs and on into the cull cow market. In this... Read More
Its the beginning of February which means it is time for the annual National Cattleman’s Beef Association (NCBA) meeting. With the cash market higher and feed prices lower than a year ago, cattle producers are seeing some strong margins and reasons for putting increased cattle on feed. Shaun Haney and Anne Wasko discuss the meeting... Read More
Explosive. It’s the only way to describe beef cash prices out of the U.S. this January. Sure, yes, there was optimism about what 2014 would bring, but no one could have expected this giant jump in prices as the market resumed after the holidays. Need production info? Click here to see all 30 episodes of... Read More
The tide seems to be turning in the area of cattle feeder profitability with live cattle futures swinging upwards and feed prices trending downward. All of this will be for not if you do not manage your risk and lock in some profits. As Anne Wasko mentions in this weeks Beef Market Update, you need... Read More
In this edition of the Beef Market Update, Anne Wasko and Shaun Haney catch up on a few weeks’ worth of news and market moves. Mid-November fat cattle supplies remain tight, leaving the feeder with a bit of leverage right now to, as Wasko says, “grind the market up into mid 120s, the highest we’ve... Read More
Who can complain about $1,000 calves, lower feed prices and actual positive feeding margins? Well maybe cash croppers….. It is starting to look like it is the beef producers turn to make some money in this economic tug-of-war. But wait, there are some issues standing in the way of profits and smooth sailing. As... Read More
In this edition of the Beef Market Update for late September, Anne Wasko, marketing analyst with Gateway Livestock Exchange, offers commentary on last week’s on-feed cattle report out of the U.S. that added to the bullish outlook there. The hiccup is, she explains to RealAgriculture.com editor Lyndsey Smith, that the same bullish factors of tight... Read More
Prices are firm, feed costs are looking softer and there’s plenty of green grass still late in the year. Let’s call it a good place to be before the moving and shaking of the fall calf run. As Anne Wasko, of Gateway Livestock, says in this edition of the Beef Market Update, fat cattle prices... Read More
If your grain-farming neighbour is wincing at crop prices and that makes you smile, you might be a cattle producer. And so begins a series of events and conditions converging to support solid cattle prices for the near term. As you’ll hear in this interview with Anne Wasko, of Gateway Livestock, cattlement are enjoying strong... Read More
Mid-summer is typically a lower price window in the cattle market, and this year is no different. What is different, however, versus the last few summers, is the cattle-feeder friendly weather and crop prices building for this fall. As Shaun Haney and Anne Wasko, of Gateway Livestock, discuss in this latest Beef Market Update, seasonal... Read More
For a bit of a change of pace, Shaun Haney and Anne Wasko sat down face to face for this edition of the Beef Market Update. Filmed at the International Livestock Congress held last week in Calgary, Alta., this Beef Market Update covers several good news topics in stark contrast to last year’s discussion at... Read More
Across parts of the Canada and the U.S., summer is making its presence felt. Intense heat has enveloped and put in danger areas of the U.S. while this week in Western Canada, some much needed heat is starting to dry out flood ravaged areas and give crops the boost they’ve been waiting for. Things can... Read More
Feedyards have moved from having to wait for cattle to be lifted for weeks on end to a situation where the market is very current. This has put a little needed marketing power in the hands of feedyards instead of the packer. The strong basis has beena n excellent incentive to sell cattle on schedule... Read More
There are good weeks and then there are poor weeks. Last week the US implemented its new rules to COOL. The Canadian and US industries feel strongly that these remedies are un-called for. Lyndsey Smith and Anne Wasko discuss the implementation of COOL in the latest edition of the CDN Beef Market Update. If you... Read More
For many in the agriculture industry and especially the beef industry, the announcement that BSE had been found in the Canadian cattle herd was one of those moments where you’ll likely always remember where you were when you first heard it. I was at work, my first job in publishing, and the news came over... Read More
Shaun Haney and Anne Wasko discuss the increase in US beef cutout prices versus the slumping cash price to feedyards. Is it all about packer margin or is there a bigger story yet to be told on beef demand through the summer. If you cannot see the embedded audio file, CLICK HERE
Anne Wasko and Shaun Haney discuss the latest in the Canadian cattle and beef industry. Last week fed prices were positive which put a smile on the face of feed yeard owners but the corn market raced higher on Monday which seemed to circumvent the better mood. The issue has been the anecdotal calf losses on... Read More
If you cannot se the embedded video player above, Click Here Anne Wasko and Shaun Haney discuss the recent cow slaughter prices. As Anne mentions to Shaun there is some interesting issues at play here. Domestic cow slaughter 1st quarter is down 7% while exports are double last year meaning that disposals are up 20%... Read More
If you cannot see the above embedded audio player, click here With growing speculation that feedyards in the US and Canada would be attempting to contain losses by limiting the amount of cattle they fed, the February placement number in the USDA Cattle on Feed Report confirmed it. The March 22, 2013 USDA Cattle on Feed report... Read More
February is a busy month for cattle conventions. The American industry hosted the National Cattlemans Beef Association convention and the Alberta cattle industry hosted the Alberta Beef Industry Conference. Anne Wasko (Dunford) represented RealAgriculture at both events this year. See More Beef Market Update Episodes In this episode of the Beef Market Update, Shaun Haney... Read More
Managing your risk continues to be the message that drives the decision making strategies of feedyards and ranches in Canada and the United States. One piece of stability to the Canadian market is the announcement that JBS will be exercising its option on the XL Foods purchase. All this and more in the Beef Market Update with... Read More
2012 is winding down, but optimism and fed cattle prices are up. Heading into to 2013, the Canadian beef cattle industry looks strong, although high feed prices are still weighing on the market. Our American friends are still struggling with a drought that isn’t resolving quickly, which may offer some support to prices in the... Read More
Last week’s U.S. beef market opened with the same strong numbers leading up to American Thanksgiving. By the end of the week, numbers had, as expected, weakened somewhat, as supplies increase in the U.S. In Canada, the reverse is true for supplies — as the fall run ends, the basis is tightening. Canadian cattle producers... Read More
The markets are volatile and could be described liked standing inside a hurricane at times. Only this time the hurricane was real. With Hurricane Sandy ripping through the east coast, the impacts on beef demand must be questioned. With the XL Foods hangover working its way out, feed yards and ranchers are trying to get... Read More
With less cattle slaughter capacity in Canada, many ranchers and feedyards are concerned about the possibility for the feeder cattle and live basis to significantly widen. A basis that gets too wide makes the current Canadian model unworkable. Currently the live cattle basis sites at 16-18 which is the same as last year at this... Read More
The fallout from the XL Foods meat recall continues as the latest development has the CFIA shutting down the Brooks facility until corrective actions can be taken. In the meantime, consumer confidence continues to wane as the urban sector tries to wrap it’s head around what is happening. See all of all of the RealAgriculture.com... Read More
The recent meat recall at XL Foods is just another issue to provide adversity to the Canadian cattle industry. With one of two Western Canadian packers being forced to deal with a meat recall the lift lines have pushed an already wide basis wider. Additionally, the topic of a struggling pork industry has left... Read More
As we get closer to the rush of the fall run and there are many questions on the table. In this episode of the Beef Market Update, Anne Dunford and Shaun Haney discuss the grind higher and the difficulty of trying to take proactive risk management strategies with such volatile corn and feed barley prices.... Read More
The US drought is capturing the attention of many people. One of the groups that is majorly impacted by the drought but has been lost in this meteorological drama is the beef industry. The US drought is playing a major role in the decision making of some beef producers and feedyards heading into the fall... Read More
We could easily call this episode of the Beef Market Update the “even Steven” episode or the “good news bad news” episode as it seems as though every point has a counter-point and every yin, a yang. In some cases it’s less of a counter-point than it is a “wait just a minute, not so... Read More
“The number one cure for high prices is high prices” That also was a pretty good reflection of the mood surrounding the Saskatchewan Stock Growers annual general meeting this week. There is great optimism for the rancher heading into the fall run as I expect feeder cattle to have strong prices attached to them. Whether... Read More
This friday is the release of the USDA Cattle on Feed report and the early consensus is that US feedyard placements will be confirmed tighter. As Anne discusses in the video, this is the scenario that many thought would play out last year but the drought proved otherwise. An interesting issue is that there is some... Read More
This edition of the Beef Market Update is…….complicated. Let’s start with the things we expected. We knew those summer lows were coming and we knew that risk management would be extremely valuable to producers in this volatile market. We even expected a little bit of the unexpected, i.e. a recent case of BSE in California.... Read More
In this episode of the Beef Market Update, we break down the latest U.S., Alberta and Saskatchewan Cattle on Feed reports. As far as the reports go, there are no big surprises with numbers up 3% in both. What do those aggressive placements mean for numbers come summer? What kind of lows can we expect... Read More
One of the questions on every producers mind is, “How long can these prices continue?” Looking at the demand side, we don’t see any real indication beside the seasonal dips that regularly occur. On the skeptical side however, whenever we have an extended run like this we have a tendency to wait for the other... Read More
If a person were to describe the overall mood of this year’s NCBA Conference, it would be descibed as price bullish and margin bearish. As we have mentioned before, it’s a cautious optimism for feeders and packers, which comes with a recognition of the volatility that producers have gone through and are also facing in the future.... Read More
Volatility was the recurring theme in the cattle industry over 2011. The fact is that the mood created by that volatility has carried into 2012. Even with things looking up for producers, the violent swings of the 2011 market are tempering any optimism with caution. Those sentiments were apparent at this year’s Tiffin Conference as... Read More
It’s Christmas on this episode of the Beef Market Update and this year we get Anne to give us her Christmas list. 2011 hasn’t been a perfect year. The Beef Market Christmas tree has a few bright ornaments and a few broken branches to mark the 2011 calendar year. The year finished with some bright... Read More
Where will 2012 see the cattle market go? Who’s star will rise? there is potential for a great year for the cattle feeder depending on where the global economy will leave the Canadian Dollar and the demand for beef. That profitability could be tempered by rising feeder costs. The cow calf producer looks to be facing a great... Read More
The major story on every beef industry radar was last weeks WTO ruling in favour of Canada with regard to the U.S. Country Of Origin Labelling legislation. The resulting effect on the market……meh. The fact is, the entire industry is awaiting the U.S. appeal and the looong drawn out process to begin again. It’s a... Read More
Understanding the cattle market right now can be a real head-scratcher if you don’t know what to pay attention to. Trying to determine the factors influencing the wild market swings is like chasing the wind. There are a number of outside factors all exerting some kind of influence from unstable overseas markets to inside bids... Read More
The USDA October Cattle on Feed Report came out late last week with one number in particular well above U.S. analysts estimates. The October 1st on-feed inventory was roughly a percent above estimates, re-establishing the impact the drought in key cattle producing parts of the U.S. is having on the regular flow of cattle. The... Read More
The Alberta & Saskatchewan Cattle on Feed report came out last week and a number of over arching themes emerged. The small herd numbers are evident when we take a look at feed yard placement numbers and heifer retention. The strong calf prices seem to be driving that heifer retention as ranchers consider replentishing the... Read More
Expect the unexpected is one of those phrases we’ve been trained to associate with something negative. In the reality of this global economic situation, that is understandable. Sometimes however, we get an unexpected silver lining type situation. The story surrounding our Canadian dollar and our cattle exports is one of those. A weaker dollar,(even if... Read More
With the announcement of the TWIST package in the United States this week, the currency and commodity markets have been put into a volatile mess. I say mess, cattle feeders say relief. With the Canadian Dollar dropping below par for the first time since February, Canadian cattle feeders can now breath a sigh of relief... Read More
The fall of 2011 may prove to be one of the most profitable seasons that the cow-calf producer has seen since the beginning of the last decade. Feeder cattle prices have begun the feeder run in Western Canada on a very hot step. Some will say though that the rancher needs a series of these... Read More
When you talk about factors affecting the cattle markets as we head into the feeder run, a number of things emerge. High commodity prices are creating a new normal when it comes to a baseline feeder price. Producers have to get over the initial sticker shock and adjust to the fact that higher feeder prices... Read More
In the last two weeks the feeder price and fat cattle price has moved in a very violent down and up swing. Is it based on fundamentals? I am not an analyst but someone that tries to follow the cattle industry closely and I have no way to tell you whether this market is going... Read More
Its sometimes staggering how quickly the mood of a market can change. With US cattle on feed placements being higher by 10% compared to a year ago the resulting plethora of beef to move to the market means lower prices in the short term. Canadian cattle feeders are getting the benefit of a very narrow... Read More
With the record high fat cattle prices behind us, we have entered the spring lulls which usually bring the same sentiment. This year many producers are staring at expensive inventory, potential sky rocketing feed costs and some nice profits made in the first four months of the year. With the seasonal summer lows expected to... Read More
When things are profitable for the feedlot operator, we generally see those operators start to fill pens. That’s the historic trend and it just makes good sense. However, the Canfax numbers for March show cattle placements down again in Canada. As the number of cattle on-feed drop, producers who depend on those numbers begin to... Read More
Barley is bumping off of $200, corn is $7.00 per bushel and dressed cattle prices are just under $200. What is going on here? With inputs and cattle prices both in bull runs it is easy to get caught up in the assumption that this will last forever. As the old saying goes, what goes... Read More
It has been a challenging year for cattle feeders in the respect that unhedged cattle have performed well financially but the majority of cattle for progressive producers were contracted or hedged. On top of this is the fact that replacing cattle in the feed yard is very expensive based on the break evens that are... Read More
I can remember back earlier in the year when Anne Dunford told me that, “higher prices doesn’t mean higher profits.” It would seem that this is proving to be very true in the cattle markets. Feedyards that locked in with contracts are disappointed and wishing more cattle were being sold in the cash market. The... Read More
It is really hard to find analysts, feeders and ranchers that are bearish on this cattle market. The industry as a whole is pretty bullish in comparison to prior years and especially in comparison to two years ago. Everyone is bullish prices in 2011 but are they bullish margins and if they are not, should... Read More
When you look back at 2010 it was a real turnaround year for the cattle markets. Both the Canadian feedyard and the rancher did quite well considering all the volatility in the marketplace. We saw higher calf prices and fat prices throughout the fall run which was much needed and required more some people to... Read More
You can look at volatility in two ways. Volatility in the cattle markets means that you may be exposed to risk that you did not plan for. For example, earlier this decade when the CDN dollar moved from the low 70’s to par in a violent upward fashion which caught many people off guard. The other... Read More
Some things change and some things just stay the same. Some things are predictable and some things are not. As expected carcass weights have peaked for the fall as the trend downwards has begun. While at the same time basis levels have been strong resulting in stronger pricing. According to Anne, pre-2003 basis levels were... Read More
In this weeks episode of the Beef Market Update, Anne Dunford discusses the need for cattle feeders to see feed prices and Canadian Dollar go lowr based on the calf placement prices. The reality is that this will probably not happen in the short term, which will lead to losses in this turn of cattle... Read More
We thought it would be cool to do something for the Beef Market Update this week. This week I collected some questions from viewers and gave them to Anne. We are going to call it JUST ASK ANNE !!! We think that you will really like this segment and we plan to do it more... Read More
Not since the early 2000’s have Canadian feedyards imported US feeder cattle in great numbers. Rumours are swirling that 2010 may be the year that this practice becomes popular again. There is no doubt that this will not sit well with Canadian ranchers due to the possible extra supply dragging down the current healthy calf... Read More
With the US market moving higher this week, Canadian producers have also enjoyed some higher fat sales as well. Immediately the resulting question is whether or not there is follow through in this market or will the price slowly slide down. The United States has done well exporting beef this year with its weaker dollar.... Read More
In this weeks Beef Market Update Anne Dunford and I discuss the difficult market for feeders right now as cattle feeders await the arrival of the calf run. Limited calves have come to the market so far but the ones that have have a nice little premium attached. With a flat fat cattle market, weaker than... Read More
This year will be remembered as the year of expecting the unexpected. Whether you are farming, cattle feeding or ranching the weather and the market has been very wicked and harsh at times. This week on the Beef Market Update with Anne Dunford, we discuss the fact the yearling run is over but we are... Read More
Every equation has a set of variables that impact the outcome. All variables have different levels of sensitivities and betas. The current fall run is shaping up to be a very interesting one. All the variables seem to be up in the air and creating a real sense of uncertainty. The interesting fact is that... Read More
It always amazes me how two weeks can make such a difference in the outlook for an industry. Two weeks ago Anne and I talked about the nervousness of the cattle market based on a high dollar, high feed and price plateau. Now the dollar is lower and the US fat prices spiked $5 last... Read More
With the fall run about to begin many feeders are in a very nervous place. It can be very difficult to make good business decisions when the market is nervous. If the list below continues to unfold through the fall it will really separate the good managers from the great managers. Or the lucky from... Read More
The Calgary Stampede is back again this year and it is definitely the biggest party in Canada every year. The Stampede has transitioned from a agriculture centric event to one also about the fair, thrill rides and concerts. All things considered the Calgary Stampede still holds its roots in agriculture. With the rodeo, chuck wagon... Read More
Not only does wet weather impact the grain and oilseed markets but it also has an impact on the livestock markets. Feedyards and ranches are in the elements which means with cattle in the elements the impact of dry or wet weather is definitely a factor in the profitability of the producer. Anne Dunford and... Read More
In this weeks episode, Anne Dunford discusses the impact that external forces are having on the North American Cattle market. It is becoming very clear that the markets like to respond to any news it can causing unnecessary prices moves which results in uncontrollable risk. Many times these external forces are reality but sometimes they... Read More
The one thing that stays consistent is that if you are in the cattle feeding business your really need to be able to stomach volatility and adverse affects that are outside of your realm of control as a producer. The snow storm has had a real impact on the cattle in the yards along with... Read More
Sometimes you just know that a market feels toppy but you maybe are a little scared to pull the trigger and start locking in some profits. Then without notice the market violently trades against you in a short period of time. How would that make you feel? Well if you are unsure ask your neighboring... Read More
Its nice to actually experience some profits in the feeding business. The question is whether this will continue through the spring or fade away and leave us wondering what happened. With April producing short supplies and barbeque season a month away, the result has been some badly needed profits for the sector. For the Canadian... Read More
It is about time that we saw some black ink in the feeding sector. Whether the rise in live cattle prices is due to hedge fund buying, increasing box beef demand or the terrible weather in the US, we will take the profits anyway that we can get them. The next question is whether this... Read More
With the weather issues in the US, a rise in fed cattle prices has followed. Cattle feeders are very interested in the potential profits that can finally be squeaked out of the market. Will this continue? Can we expect 2010 to maybe be the turn around year that we thought was maybe possible back at... Read More
By most accounts the 2010 NCBA convention in San Antonio was a huge success. This was my first NCBA meeting so it is fitting that we talked to Anne Dunford a wily veteran of the NCBA festivities. Anne wrapped up the week and talked about what she thought were the major things to be pulled... Read More
Now that we have flipped the calendar into 2010 we can leave 2009 behind us and look forward to a year of prosperity for ranchers and cattle feeders right? I’m not sure if it is that easy but it seems that the flip to the new decade has brought some fresh optimism and willingness to give it... Read More
Last week was a brutal week in terms of cattle pricing and the question is starting to loom, what will 2010 bring the business. The feeding and ranching industry needs some relief from the financial pressure that has been experienced over the last twelve months. Had it not been for the currency trade gains in 2008,... Read More
This fall is proving to test the real intestinal fortitude of the cattleman in the United States and Canada. With feeding losses mounting and demand not recovering in the early winter months, the outlook looks extremely strained. Traditionally cattleman have been internal optimists but this turn of feeding has challenged all of that and more.... Read More
Anne Dunford of the Gateway Livestock Exchange breaks down the recent bounce off the bottom for the cattle market and whether or not she can see this market continuing upward into December and the spring. See Past Beef Market Updates
In this installment of the beef market update, Anne Dunford of the Gateway Livestock Exchange talks about the impact of the surging Canadian dollar. Anne talks about the familiarity of this story referencing what happened in the fall of 2007 and whether it will happen again. There has been a lot of discussion about the... Read More
Anne breaks down the Alberta – Saskatchewan Cattle on feed Report and how the bearish feed market may be offset by the volatile Canadian Dollar. I also ask whether or not there are cattle to be placed in feedlots at lockable profits. Anne also discusses the impact that the US dairy situation has had on... Read More
Anne Dunford discusses the sentiment of the Us and Canadian feed yard owner and the impact that this is having on the feeder cattle market. Anne also breaks down the affect that COOL is having on exports of feeder cattle into the US from Canada and Mexico. See Past Beef Market Updates
Summer is coming to an end and feedyards are starting to place grass cattle. Anne Dunford of the Gateway Livestock Exchange talks about the fat cattle and feeder markets are being affected and how the fall may play out for the cattle industry in both Canada and the US. Anne also predicts what will... Read More
Now that we are about to move into August its time to start looking towards the fall with some optimism right? Anne Dunford of the Gateway Livestock Exchange breaks down the beef demand numbers, the US cattle on feed report and what the fall may bring north and south of the border. More Beef Market Updates
In todays Beef Market Update, Anne Dunford of the Gateway Livestock Exchange, talks about the US Cattle of Feed Report that was released last week and some of the outcomes to be expected from it through the summer. Please take the time to check out the services that Gateway Livestock Exchange provides to its clients.
Today, Anne Dunford, General Manager, Gateway Livestock Exchange talked to me about the North American cattle industry. This is the first edition of the RealAgriculture.com Beef Market Update. In my continuing effort to increase the content I require your feedback to keep improving the site. When it comes to explaining what is happening in the... Read More