The latest weekly cattle market update from Canfax focused more on Alberta cattle prices as there weren’t enough head marketed in Saskatchewan to get an accurate report.
However, Canfax did note 2,789 head were sold at auction in the province for the week ending May 16, a small increase from the previous week’s 2,659 head. The latest marketing volume is down from the same week last year when 3,925 head were marketed. The year-to-date total for 2025 is now 170,461 head of feeder cattle marketed, four per cent above 2024.
Livestock Intern at the Saskatchewan Ministry of Agriculture Emily Schmidt says Alberta feeder steer and heifer prices were mostly down last week.
Prices for Alberta feeder steers ranged from the lower end of $364.62 per cwt in the 900-plus pound category to the higher end of $562.50 per cwt in the 300-400 pound category. The market update notes the 300-400 pound steers had a decrease of around $40.00 per cwt in the 300-400 pound category, while the 500-600 pound category had an increase of around $18.00 per cwt.
Feeder heifer prices range from $348.67 per cwt in the 900-plus pound category to $519.58 per cwt in the 300-400 pound category. Week-over-week price changes ranged from a decrease of around $46.00 per cwt in the 300-400 pound category, to an increase of around $13.00 per cwt in the 400-500 pound category.
Schmidt says the Alberta feeder prices are relatively close to the Saskatchewan feeder prices that were previously reported.
As for prices of market-ready cattle, Schmidt says they’re mostly down.
The price of D2 slaughter cows for the week ending May 16 was $227.09 per cwt, a decrease of $4.63 from the previous week. D3 slaughter cows decreased by $1.50 to $205.25 per cwt. The Canfax price for Alberta fed steers was $297.85 per cwt, up $3.99 per cwt from the previous week.
The May and August feeder cattle futures were slightly down last week and the June and August live cattle futures were also down, after several weeks of steady increases.