Farm & Market Report: Cull cows edge up at Keady, soybean harvest hits 82%, a dry weekend ahead

Feeder cattle held steady at Keady this week while cull cows sold a little higher, and Ontario's soybean harvest is now more than four-fifths done. Corn is the slow one, with high moisture keeping many combines parked, and the weekend forecast stays dry.

At the sale barn: cattle

All classes of stocker and feeder cattle sold steady at Keady Livestock Market's Tuesday sale on Oct. 20, and cull cows sold slightly higher, according to the market's sale report published by Beef Farmers of Ontario on Oct. 21. Prices below are averages in dollars per hundredweight (100 pounds), the basis Beef Farmers of Ontario uses for all its auction reports. Divide by 100 for the price per pound.

• Steers, 700 to 799 lb: the busiest steer class, 107 head, averaged $536.97; most sold between $527.50 and $555.
• Steers, 800 to 899 lb: 73 head averaged $492.59.
• Steers, 900 to 999 lb: 79 head averaged $479.64.
• Steers over 1,000 lb: 153 head averaged $429.95.
• Lighter steers: 54 head of 500 to 599 lb averaged $655.89, and 46 head of 400 to 499 lb averaged $734.14.
• Heifers: 62 head of 400 to 499 lb averaged $603.80, 59 head of 500 to 599 lb averaged $550.30, and 48 head of 800 to 899 lb averaged $438.87.
• Cull cows: 29 head averaged $164.21; most sold between $137.50 and $177.50.

Beef Farmers of Ontario had not posted a Keady stocker sale report newer than the Oct. 9 sale when we checked Thursday morning. At that sale, yearling cattle sold actively on a steady market, the report says, and the 773 steers over 1,000 lb averaged $448.43.

At the sale barn: lambs

The latest Keady lamb report posted by Ontario Sheep Farmers is from the Oct. 20 sale. Ontario Sheep Farmers also quotes lamb prices per hundredweight.

Lambs of 50 to 64 lb were the biggest group: 50 head averaged $475.45, and most sold between $375 and $540. Twelve lambs of 65 to 79 lb averaged $445, 29 lambs of 80 to 94 lb averaged $363.54, and 19 lambs over 110 lb averaged $365.47. Two weight classes had fewer than 10 head, which Ontario Sheep Farmers says is too few for a reliable price, so they're left out here.

Grain

Grain Farmers of Ontario has not posted a market trends report since Oct. 13, so these grain figures are from that report and are two weeks old. It said corn, soybeans and wheat were all lower on Oct. 9 than in its previous report, after a U.S. Department of Agriculture forecast raised the American corn yield more than the trade expected.

On Oct. 9, December corn futures were US$4.79 a bushel and November soybean futures US$12.92, according to the report. Ontario basis on old-crop corn ran from $1.30 to $1.61 over December futures, and old-crop soybean basis from $3.90 to $4.25 over November futures. Ontario soft red winter wheat was about $8 a bushel for old crop as of Oct. 11, with new-crop bids for July 2027 around $8.40. The Canadian dollar was at 70.07 cents US on Oct. 9.

In the field

Ontario's soybean harvest was 82 per cent done as of Wednesday, Oct. 21, up from 70 per cent a week earlier, according to Grain Farmers of Ontario's weekly Field Progress estimate, as reported in its Ontario Grain Farmer magazine on Oct. 22. Corn harvest reached 5 per cent, up from 1 per cent. "Moistures are still high for much of the corn crop," the magazine says, with readings from 20 per cent to upwards of 30. Winter wheat planting was 96 per cent complete. The figures are province-wide.

The magazine also says the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Agribusiness expects to release its annual grain corn ear mould and DON (vomitoxin) survey in late October. The ministry's most recent crop report on its Field Crop News site is still dated Sept. 24, and no October crop report had been posted when we checked.

Weather for the week

Environment Canada's forecast for Owen Sound, the closest forecast point to the township, issued at 5 a.m. Friday, calls for a mainly sunny Friday once morning fog patches clear, with a high of 14 and a low of zero Friday night. Saturday is sunny with a high of 16, and Sunday sunny with a high of 18. There's a 30 per cent chance of showers Sunday night and Monday, when the high is 15. It cools to a high of 10 on Tuesday and 13 on Wednesday, and Thursday looks cloudy with a 40 per cent chance of showers and a high of 11. Normal for this time of year is a high of 11 and a low of 3. No weather warnings were in effect for the area as of 6:15 a.m. Friday.

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Your turn: How's harvest going on your farm, and what should the Farm & Market Report track that we've missed? Email news@chatsworthbanner.ca.