More Cattle Heading To Town

Saskatchewan's Cattle Specialist Natasha Wilkie says there was a significant jump in the number of cattle moving through the sales ring.

 

"We jumped up almost three times what we were at last week. Canfax reported a total of 24, 092 head of cattle sold in Saskatchewan last week. That's up from 8,610 head the previous week and still more than 16, 308 head marketed during the same week in 2020."

 

She notes feeder steer prices and heifer prices were mixed across all weight categories.

 

The largest price increase for feeder steers was in the 300-400lb weight category, increasing $2.12 per cwt to end the week averaging $273.25 per cwt. The largest price decrease week-over-week was seen in the 800-900lb weight category which declined by $3.88 per cwt to end the week averaging $177.92 per cwt. The 700-800lb weight category ended the week with an average price of $193.21 per cwt. The weekly average steer price, across the reported weight categories, was $216.61 per cwt in Saskatchewan.

 

Saskatchewan feeder heifer prices were also mixed across all the reported weight categories when compared to prices the previous week. The largest price increase was seen in the 400-500lb weight category, increasing $1.51 per cwt to end the week averaging $210.61 per cwt. The largest price decrease was seen in the 800+lb weight category, with prices decreasing by $3.36 per cwt to end the week averaging $160.64 per cwt. The 700-800lb weight category ended the week with an average price of $170.31 per cwt. The weekly average heifer price across the reported weight categories was $190.75 per cwt in Saskatchewan.

 

Wilkie says there's been an upswing in the price of cull cows.

 

D2 slaughter cows saw a rather large price increase of $5.80 per cwt. While, the price of D3 slaughter cows saw a similar increase as well with prices going up $4.52 per cwt from the previous week to average $69.75 per cwt.

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.