Canfax Weekly Article | Report for the week of July 6, 2026

The fed cattle market has exceeded expectations. Weighted average fed prices continue to hold in the mid to upper $350s/cwt FOB the feedlot, setting new highs yet again this week. Over the past fifty years, annual price highs have never occurred in July. This spring/early summer has brought a lot of moisture across parts of the Prairies and pen conditions are less than ideal. Performance has been impacted and in some of the worst areas, cattle are being shipped out earlier than initially planned. Dressed sales were reported from $590–$600/cwt. Most, if not all, the cattle traded this week were scheduled for second-half July delivery. The past few weeks, Western Canadian fed slaughter has been the smallest since 2015. Historically small slaughter volumes continue to be a concern.

With the mid-week holiday, Alberta auction volumes were 11,887 head, down 43 per cent from last year and 15 per cent from the five-year average. Three quarters of volumes were electronic/video sales, with 4,477 head for forward delivery from September to December. Seasonally, auction volumes are expected to remain light until the yearling run. For the month of June, Alberta 550 pound steers averaged $719/cwt, up $9/cwt from May. When compared to the U.S. and Ontario, Alberta 550 pound steers were trading at a $34/cwt and $49/cwt premium respectively. For the week ending June 20th, Canadian feeder cattle exports to the U.S. were 2,205 head, up 50 per cent from last year.

The Alberta non-fed market should begin to move seasonally lower, and that appears to be the case last week. Alberta D2 cows eased $3/cwt from last week and have chopped sideways near their peak for the past eight weeks. Alberta D3 cows softened a modest $1/cwt from last week, while butcher bulls ended the week $2/cwt lower. Railgrade cows have been trading fully steady for the past nine weeks, ranging from $450–$460/cwt. Western Canadian cow slaughter has been above year-ago levels for eight of the past 10 weeks after being below year-ago levels for the first 15 weeks to begin 2026.

Bull

• Strong forward delivery sales suggest the cash market will remain supportive heading into the fall.
• Alberta 550 pound steers are trading at a strong premium over both the U.S. and Ontario markets.
• Alberta fed cash-to-futures basis was 17.66, the strongest basis since the spring of 2024.

Bear

• The Alberta non-fed market seasonally should begin to move lower.
• Union workers at the Fort Morgan, Colorado, beef processing plant have been on strike for a month and a half.
• Choice cutout eased $9/cwt, while Select cutout values were down $7/cwt from last week.