Record-breaking cattle prices a lifeline for farmers facing inflation, trade tensions

Cattle prices have soared to what producers are calling record highs in 2025, offering long-awaited financial relief to Manitoba ranchers after years of stagnant returns and rising operational costs.

Barry Lowes, a producer from McAuley in southwestern Manitoba, watched the Livestock Markets Association of Canada auction in Virden Friday, marking down prices in amazement as bids soared to unprecedented levels.

"They're all amazed at the prices," Lowes said. "It's just quite a spectacle."

He already had a record-breaking bull sale that saw animals sell for just under $11,000 in February. That's up around $2,600 compared to last year.

Since then, prices have continued to climb. His 393 black steers at the Virden auction also went for the highest prices he's ever seen.

It's a relief after years of turbulence in the industry, he says.

For producers like Lowes, the price swell, driven by tight cattle supplies and strong consumer demand, is easing the financial pressure ranchers have endured for years.

Canada has around 10.9 million head of cattle, a number that's dropped nearly five per cent in just three years, according to Statistics Canada.

Cattle auctioneer Rob Bergevin says in the 25 years he's been in the business, prices have never been so good for producers. One bull at Friday's auction sold for $3.18 a pound, one of the highest values he's ever seen on the auction floor.

"It is a ton of fun selling these cattle, I have to tell you. There's so much interest," Bergevin said.

Live sales are up at least $1,000 per animal compared to last year, says Rick Wright, CEO of the Livestock Markets Association of Canada.

Statistics Canada says cattle for slaughter were selling for as much as nearly $263 per hundredweight (meaning per 100 pounds of live weight) as of March 2025 — the highest price recorded in the StatsCan data, which goes back to 1985.

The cattle market typically moves in 10-year cycles, Wright said.

The 2015 market saw prices as high as $193 per hundredweight, but they dropped sharply in 2016, falling to as low as $91 by the end of that year.