The House of Commons’ standing committee on agriculture will soon be wrapping up its study into Canada’s processing capacity. Since November, MPs have heard from more than 50 witnesses on the matter — including representatives from the Canadian Cattlemen’s Association, whose president Bob Lowe and executive vice-president Dennis Laycraft testified at a committee meeting Tuesday. […] Read more
Beef cattle sector weighs in for federal food processing study
Cattlemen's Association makes recommendations to Commons' ag committee
U.S. livestock: Hog futures drop on end-of-month profit taking
Live cattle book biggest one-day drop since November
Chicago | Reuters — U.S. hog futures dropped 2.9 per cent on Friday, with traders locking in profits from the rally on the last session of February. The loss, which pulled the market from the nearly two-year high hit on Thursday, was the biggest for hogs in percentage terms since Nov. 19. It snapped a […] Read more
Alberta student researchers win prestigious scholarships
Reading Time: 2 minutes Two Albertans are the recipients of the Karl C. Ivarson Agricultural Scholarships for 2020. Jessica Sperber, a PhD student in ruminant nutrition at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, was awarded the $17,000 scholarship for PhD students. Her research focuses on feedlot sustainability and greenhouse gas emissions, utilizing biochar and measuring its impact on methane production when […] Read more
U.S. livestock: Hogs firm on follow-through buying, cash strength
U.S. beef export sales down on week
Chicago | Reuters — Chicago Mercantile Exchange live hog futures rose for the fourth day in a row on Thursday, hitting its highest since May 2019 on follow-through buying after rising the daily trading limit on Wednesday, traders said. Strength in the cash market also supported hog prices but the market closed off its high […] Read more
Just call it LPI for short
Reading Time: < 1 minute The price insurance program has adopted a shorter handle as part of an effort to “expand awareness and enrolment.” Formerly called the Western Livestock Price Insurance Program, it is now just called Livestock Price Insurance and has a revamped website. Despite the name change, the program is only for producers in Western Canada. Last year, […] Read more
U.S. livestock: Hog futures limit-up to highest since May 2019
Cattle futures bounce on bargain buying
Chicago | Reuters — U.S. lean hog futures rose their daily limit on Wednesday, hitting their highest in nearly two years on tight frozen stocks and expectations for strong Chinese demand, traders said. The U.S. Agriculture Department’s cold storage report issued on Tuesday afternoon fueled buying on Wednesday. “Belly and trim stocks are at four-year […] Read more
Beef checkoff dollars fund 29 projects
Reading Time: < 1 minute The Beef Cattle Research Council has awarded $2.9 million to 29 projects in the latest round of funding paid for by checkoff dollars. Priority areas are animal health and welfare, feed production and utilization, food safety and environmental stewardship. Knowledge transfer is also a priority, said vice-chair Craig Lehr, a cow-calf producer and feedlot operator […] Read more
Cattle CSI: Big-time wrecks require careful sleuthing
Turns out that all four of the mysterious cases were examples of ‘minerals gone bad,’ says vet
Reading Time: 5 minutes Not all minerals play nice, and some can create serious health problems in cattle. “The thing that makes the phone ring the most are feed- or nutritional-related disease outbreaks,” Dr. Elizabeth Homerosky of Veterinary Agri-Health Services said at the recent virtual Red-Bow Ranching Conference. “The most common thing, especially this time of year, are downer […] Read more
U.S. livestock: Hog futures rise to highest since July 2019
April cattle dip to below 30-day moving average
Chicago | Reuters — Chicago Mercantile Exchange live hog futures rose to their highest since July 2019 on Tuesday, underpinned by strong demand. Cattle futures weakened for the fourth time in five days, with the most-active April live cattle contract sinking to a one-month low as activity at meat processors picked up with improving weather […] Read more
FCC: Cattle feeders and backgrounders to struggle
Reading Time: < 1 minute Not bad for some, not good for others sums up Farm Credit Canada’s outlook for the livestock sector this year. “Farrow-to-finish operations will continue to witness pressures on margins, while isowean/ weanling operators will see a turnaround in profits,” states the FCC forecast. “Cow-calf margins should be strong while feedlot operators and backgrounders may struggle […] Read more
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