Cattle Prices Showing Signs of Optimism

Apr 29, 2021

There were slight increases in cattle prices, according to the Ministry of Agriculture’s weekly cattle market report.

Feeder steers saw the largest increase in the 300-to-400-pound category with a gain of $7.66 per one hundred pounds (cwt), for an average of $260.33 cwt. The largest decrease was in the 400-to-500-pound category, dropping $2.81 cwt for an average of $247.79 cwt.

For feeder heifers, the only increase came in the 300–400-pound category with an increase of $3.60 cwt for an average of $217 cwt. The 800-plus pound category saw the largest drop with a decrease of $2.12 cwt for an average of $162.63 cwt.

Provincial cattle specialist Natasha Wilkie said feed grains played a factor in last week’s cattle prices.

“They just kept rising and that, of course, affects your feeder cattle futures, which then affects your cash prices,” Wilkie said.

“That being said, I'm a little bit optimistic, so I was really happy to see that there were even some increases for at least some of the feeder and steer weight categories. So that was a good news story believe it or not.”

Prices for non-fed live cattle from Alberta continue to climb week over week. D2 slaughter cows were up $1.50 cwt to an average of $94.60 cwt. D3 slaughter cows saw a slight increase of $0.83 cwt for an average of $82.50 cwt.

Rail prices for fed steers out of Alberta ranged from $257 to $260.60 cwt, up by $2.50 to $4.75 cwt from the previous week.

Rail prices for D2 and D3 cattle went up again by $1.00 cwt, ranging from $181 to $186 cwt.

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Video: Evolution of Beef Cattle Farming

The Clear Conversations podcast took to the road for a special episode recorded in Nashville during CattleCon, bringing listeners straight into the heart of the cattle industry. Host Tracy Sellers welcomed rancher Steve Wooten of Beatty Canyon Ranch in Colorado for a wide-ranging discussion that blended family history and sustainability, particularly as it relates to the future of beef production.

Sustainability emerged as a central theme of the conversation, a word that Wooten acknowledges can mean very different things depending on who you ask. For him, sustainability starts with the soil. Healthy soil produces healthy grass, which supports efficient cattle capable of producing year after year with minimal external inputs. It’s an approach that equally considers vegetation, animal efficiency, and long-term profitability.

That philosophy aligned naturally with Wooten’s involvement in the U.S. Roundtable for Sustainable Beef, where he served as a representative for the Colorado Cattlemen’s Association. The roundtable brings together the entire beef supply chain—from producers to retailers—along with universities, NGOs, and allied industries. Its goal is not regulation, Wooten emphasized, but collaboration, shared learning, and continuous improvement.