Livestock price improvements

Livestock prices are a lot better than a year ago. The Saskatchewan Ministry of Agriculture publishes a Market Trends report that lists current grain and livestock prices versus the price one year earlier. A1 steers in Saskatchewan are currently listed at 90 cents a pound. A year ago, the price was 82 cents. D1 / D2 cows are a lot better at around 59 cents as compared to only 39 cents last year. With the fall calf run approaching, a lot of cow-calf producers will be following the price of feeder calves. The report lists the current price of 500 to 600 pound steer calves at $1.20 a pound, versus $1.09 last year. That’s roughly another $60 per calf. While that’s helpful, prices will have to increase further to provide a decent return. Many livestock analysts and observers believe cattle prices will indeed continue to strengthen. Look at the big turnaround in the hog industry. A year ago, Index 100 market hogs in Saskatchewan were around $95 per hundred kilograms. Now prices are in the $150 to $160 range. That’s the kind of increase cow-calf producers would like to see. I’m Kevin Hursh.