Cattle prices in Saskatchewan hit a speed bump last week after weeks of steady increases.

In the Cattle Market Update for the week ending December 13th from Canfax, prices for most feeder steer and feeder heifers were down, while the 900-plus pound steers and 800-plus pound heifers didn’t have a reported price. Steer prices ranged from the low end of $351.50 per cwt in the 800-900 pound category to the higher end of $593.00 per cwt in the 300-400 pound category. Heifer prices ranged from $350.69 in the 700-800 pound category to $513.67 in the 300-400 pound category.

The largest week-over-week increase among steers was in the 400-500 pound category at $5.18 per cwt and the largest decrease was in the 300-400 pound category at $6.83. All of the heifer categories had a decrease in price with the biggest in the 400-500 pound category at $11.51.

Livestock Intern at the Saskatchewan Ministry of Agriculture Emily Schmidt believes the tighter supply of feeder cattle, combined with smaller feedlot sizes, are contributors to last week’s price decline.

While the quantity of feeder cattle going to market is seasonally lower, it’s actually higher compared to the same week last year. Canfax reported 19,192 head of cattle marketed in the province during the week ending December 13th, down from the 26,006 head marketed the previous week, but higher than the 9,331 head marketed the same week in 2023. The number of feeder cattle marketed in the province this year is 581,680, which is 9 per cent below 2023 levels.

Prices of cattle in Alberta were mixed compared to the previous week. D2 slaughter cows were $172.15 per cwt, up 46 cents compared to the previous week and D3 slaughter cows was $158.98, down $3.34 from the prior week. The price for Alberta fed steers was $254.22, “the
highest price since June of this year when the annual high was set” according to Canfax, and an increase of $6.16 from the previous week’s price of $248.06 per cwt. It’s also higher than last year’s price when it was $220.84 per cwt.

This is the last Cattle Market Update until January 6.