Alberta feeder cattle prices fell 8.9 per cent in September from August, Statistics Canada reported Nov. 10.

The agency linked falling feeder prices to a weaker slaughter market and tighter feedlot margins. Slaughter cattle prices also declined across the provinces, with heavier animals and increased supply among the pressures identified.

Crop results were mixed. Alberta dry pea prices rose 2.2 per cent from August, the largest increase among the Prairie provinces. Canola prices fell month over month across the western provinces, while Prairie wheat prices, excluding durum, rose for a fourth month.

Statistics Canada’s Farm Product Prices Survey measures provincial average prices received for agricultural products produced and sold. Its monthly reference period allows comparisons over time, but a provincial average does not establish what any particular producer received.

The agency draws on administrative information for most commodity prices, alongside survey collection. The series supplies the price information used in farm cash receipt estimates and the Farm Product Price Index.