Alberta Pork Weekly Report

February 15, 2022

Announcements, news and reminders

From Alberta Pork

Alberta Pork semi-annual meetings – two weeks away

Alberta Pork’s semi-annual meetings take place in Grande Prairie, Sherwood Park, Red Deer and Lethbridge from Tues., Mar. 15 to Fri., Mar. 18, respectively.

While most COVID-19 public health measures in Alberta recently ended, participants are asked to respect the choices of others who may wish to continue wearing a mask or remaining physically distant. Participants will be able to attend meetings regardless of vaccination status, but advance registration is strongly recommended and appreciated.

Please complete the registration form or contact Janice Brown, Administrative Coordinator, Alberta Pork by phone at 780-474-8288, toll-free at 1-877-247-PORK (7675).

Vaccine requirements eased for travel – this week

Temporary Foreign Workers (TFWs) in agriculture may enter Canada regardless of their COVID-19 vaccination status; however, they will still be required to test negative upon arrival. Find more details from the Government of Canada.

For more information, please contact Charlotte Shipp, Industry Programs Manager, Alberta Pork by email at charlotte.shipp@albertapork.com or by phone at 780-491-3528, toll-free at 1-877-247-PORK (7675).

Growing farm safety for female producers – next week

AgSafe Alberta’s ‘Growing Farm Safety Series 2022’ features free webinars on topics concerning farmers. ‘Reducing the risk of adverse pregnancy outcomes and perinatal illness for female Ag producers’ takes place on Tues., Mar. 8. Learn more and register.

Prairie Swine Centre producer meetings – this month

Prairie Swine Centre will host producer meetings on Wed., Mar. 30 and Wed., Apr. 13 for producers to learn more about how their research dollars are being translated into development for the industry. Learn more and register.

Canadian Hog Journal Banff 2022 edition – this week

• Banff Pork Seminar hits half-century mark
• Vaccines show promise for pigs and producers
• Farmers’ place within ASF preparedness
• Disease, inflation, climate issues could define 2022
• Public perceptions wield increasing influence
• Mental health awareness must shift to action for farmers
• Meet the 2022 Banff Pork Seminar award winners
• Leaner diets can save money, preserve growth
• Technology supports breeding efficiency
• Performance variation points to potential improvements

Read the full edition online or check your mailbox soon, and keep an eye on the Canadian Hog Journal website, Twitter and Facebook for more articles to be published separately in the coming weeks.

By sharing Canadian Hog Journal posts on your social media, you help spread the word about issues affecting the Canadian hog industry. Thank you.

Feed cost modelling

Supplied by Gowans Feed Consulting

View the latest feed price calculator

The information in this section of the Alberta Pork Weekly Report (this email) reflects the feed cost situation experienced at the time the section was last updated, on February 14, 2022.

Ingredient pricing this past month has been driven largely by a combination of weather news out of South America and continued logistics challenges. Here is an overview of pricing delivered to Red Deer.

• Corn price climbed over the past weeks since the most recent USDA WASDE report with market price between $420-425/T delivered.
• Wheat dropped late January into the low to mid $430’s but with increased demand for spot loads due to some delays in arrival of corn unit trains and climbing futures, prices have climbed back up to $450-455/T delivered.
• Barley has come down to around $425/T with farmers looking to move at least some grain of late. Some upward pressure has been seen early this week due to some backup with cattle as a result of slowed movement of goods over the border.
• DDGS has remained relatively flat at $472/T delivered. There is some potential for firming due to increase in other protein prices and ethanol production run rates dropping.
• Soybean meal futures have climbed quite dramatically over the past month bringing cash prices to $730-740/T. This has been driven by downgrading of yield estimates out of South America.
• Canola meal remains very tight and offers have been anywhere from $565-595 over the past few days.
• Pulses remain largely priced out of the diet with Faba pricing at around $520-530/T delivered.

Hog supply and price reporting

Supplied by Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada (AAFC)

View the latest hog supply report as a PDF

Information last updated February 19, 2022

Supplied by Commodity Professionals Inc.

View the latest pork market report as a PDF

The market information in this section of the Alberta Pork Weekly Report (this email) reflects the production cycle of the previous six months and pig pricing information at February 15, 2022.

Pricing overview

US retail pork prices for the month of January varied. Bacon prices edged +0.2% higher to $7.22/lb for the month and is +23.9% over last year, while chops declined -0.1% to $4.02/lb for January which is +8.8% over the same month in 2020, and hams rose +5.0% in the latest data to $3.89/lb which is +13.1% over year ago levels. Other pork dropped -1.2% from a month earlier to $3.45/lb and is up +14.3% compared year ago levels. Pork cutout averaged $90.56/cwt in January, up +4.8% on the month and +12.8% compared to last year.

Monthly US retail beef prices declined into January, however, remain significantly high compared to year ago levels. Uncooked ground was down -0.1% to $5.17/lb which is +13.8% over last year, steaks were down -1.1% to $9.83/lb bringing them +19.1% over 2020, while roasts fell -1.5% to $6.85/lb which is +16.8% over last year, and other beef (not veal) declined -3.4% to $6.77/lb which is +20.2% over January 2020. Choice cutout rose +6.7% in January to $282.91/cwt bringing them +30.5% over last year, while select cutout rose +8.0% to $273.63/cwt on the month and is +32.9% over last year.

US retail broiler prices edged +0.1% higher to $2.22/lb for January, bringing them +9.3% over year ago prices, while wholesale broilers climbed +2.3% on the month to $0.91/lb which is +33.0% over 2020.

Young chicken slaughter rates averaged 160.6 million head for January while production averaged 1,024 million pounds for the same period, with slaughter down 876 thousand head and production 3 million pounds under year ago levels.

Weekly hog price recap

Cash hogs were mixed during the week. National cash recorded declines for much of the week, particularly Monday with a significant drop of $9.35/cwt. Regional cash varied, with the ISM down much of the week while the WCB improved near daily. CME cash improved daily, with mid-week gains more modest than those recorded the remainder of the week. Wholesale pork values improved throughout much of the week, with only loins recording a modest decline from the previous week. US pork cutout rose $6.64/cwt over the previous week’s average.

Weekly hog margins

Monitored hog margins recorded good strength on continued improvements in hog values despite some pressure from another rise in feed costs. Canadian farrow-to-finish feed costs were up $2.50/hog while those in the monitored US region climbed closer to $3/hog from a week earlier.

Hog margins out of Hylife strengthened $10.50 to more than $14.50/hog profits while the OlyW 20 strengthened near $7.75 to $13.75/hog profits. Hog margins out of Quebec improved $3.75 while those out of Ontario strengthened shy of $8, with each province’s margins near $11/hog profits. ML Sig 4 margins improved more than $5.25 to $6.50/hog profits while the OlyW 21 strengthened $2 to $2.75/hog profits. In the US, Tyson margins improved $8 to $18.75/hog profits while JM strengthened $7.75 to $27.75/hog profits from the previous week.

U.S. regional margins

• Tyson: $18.73 USD x 1.2741 = $23.86 CAD
• Morrell: $27.70 USD x 1.2741 = $35.29 CAD