Market Talk with Jerry Klassen
It’s that time of year when I receive many inquiries in regard to the feed grain outlook for the 2018-19 crop year. In the previous article, I discussed South American crop conditions and North American projections for the upcoming crop year. Feedlot operators have been factoring higher costs per pound gain which has resulted in […] Read more
Market Talk with Jerry Klassen
I often look at past articles to see how markets have developed compared to my thought process at the time. In the October 2017 issue, I discussed how barley prices in Western Canada had potential to strengthen over the winter. During September, Lethbridge barley was trading in the range of $190 to $195 and I […] Read more
Market Talk with Jerry Klassen
It’s that time of year when I receive many inquiries from cow-calf producers and feedlot operators regarding the price outlook for feeder cattle. Throughout March, yearling prices were under pressure while calves and cattle fit for grass were rather firm. The feeder cattle market appears to be sending mixed signals. Feedlot margins have been rather […] Read more
Market Talk with Jerry Klassen
Once again it is that time of year when I receive many inquiries from cattle producers with regard to the price outlook for feed grains. At the time of writing this article, Lethbridge area feedlots were buying feed barley in the range of $218/mt to $223/mt; however, feedlots located between Calgary and Edmonton were making […] Read more
Market Talk with Jerry Klassen
I’ve received inquiries from cow/calf producers and backgrounders regarding the purchase of price insurance for feeder cattle. In early November the March futures made contract highs but since then have trended lower. At the same time, ther cash continues to trade near 52-week highs. It appears the Canadian feeder market has divorced from the feeder […] Read more
Market Talk with Jerry Klassen
I’ve received many calls from backgrounding operators and feedlot managers in regard to the feeder cattle market. Prices have strengthened throughout the fall period and it now appears that potential margins will be quite snug for all weight categories. The futures market for live and feeder cattle is reflecting two distinct price structures. Discerning the […] Read more
Market Talk with Jerry Klassen
I’ve received many inquiries into the outlook for corn and barley prices over the winter period. Feeder cattle prices have strengthened so that it’s difficult to pencil a profit and feedlot operators are wondering how the cost per pound gain will vary for the next round of feeding. At the time of writing this article, […] Read more
Market Talk with Jerry Klassen
The Canadian dollar experienced a sharp rally from May through September as the Bank of Canada implemented a tighter monetary policy. This was somewhat negative for fed and feeder cattle prices. However, since early September, the Canadian dollar has deteriorated and I’ve received many inquiries over the past few weeks with regard to future market […] Read more
Market Talk with Jerry Klassen
Feedlots in Canada and the U.S. experienced a very profitable feeding margin structure from January through August. During the first week of May, when the fed cattle market reached $197, margins actually edged over $700 per head in some cases which was a record in my career of analyzing profitability. However, margins moved into negative […] Read more
Market Talk with Jerry Klassen
Feed barley prices have been under pressure through the harvest period as yields across Western Canada have come in better than expected. It appears that the drier conditions in the southern regions of Alberta and Saskatchewan were more than offset by timely rains in the central and northern areas of the provinces. Barley selected for […] Read more
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