(Photo courtesy Canada Beef Inc.)

U.S. livestock: CME live cattle finish strong after wild ride

Chicago | Reuters — Chicago Mercantile Exchange live cattle contracts closed higher on Tuesday amid massive short-covering spurred by higher wholesale beef values that overcame selling led by lower cash price expectations for later this week, traders said. Spot December finished at 128.025 cents/lb., up 0.35 cent, and February 0.925 cent higher at 130.575 cents […] Read more

(Photo courtesy Canada Beef Inc.)

U.S. livestock: CME live cattle tumble limit down

Chicago | Reuters — Chicago Mercantile Exchange live cattle futures finished Monday’s session down by their three cents/lb. daily price limit after late Friday’s cash prices fell short of expectations, traders and analysts said. Spot December finished at 127.675 cents/lb., and February at 129.65 cents (all figures US$). Live cattle’s trading limit will be expanded […] Read more


(Photo courtesy Canada Beef Inc.)

Klassen: Feedlots curb buying interest

Despair is the price one pays for setting an impossible aim. Given the phone calls over the past week, producers have been expecting something the market cannot offer. Western Canadian feeder cattle prices were under severe pressure, with 700-plus-pound cattle down $8-$12 from seven days earlier; calves under 700 lbs. traded $4-$8 below week-ago levels. […] Read more



(Canada Beef Inc. photo)

U.S. livestock: Heavy meat supplies sour CME cattle, hog futures

Chicago | Reuters –– Chicago Mercantile Exchange cattle futures fell sharply on Friday, rounding out the week on a sour note as traders sought cover amid a steep downturn in wholesale beef prices. CME live cattle and feeder cattle futures gave back much of the gains they had made in the past two sessions, after […] Read more

RENN Mill Center buys the Jiffy line of ag products

Lacombe-area company will now build 
and sell Jiffy bale shredders, hay rakes 
and harrow drawbars

Reading Time: < 1 minute RENN Mill Center Inc. has purchased the manufacturing and distribution rights to the popular Jiffy brand of agriculture equipment, which includes the Jiffy bale shredder, hay rake and harrow drawbar. “We’ve been wanting to expand our product line for a while now,” says RENN president Doug Hilsabeck. “We’ve been looking for a brand of equipment […] Read more


(Manitoba Co-operator file photo by Laura Rance)

Warm Prairie soils delay fertilizing ban, winter weights

Manitoba’s winter ban on nutrient application has been postponed, again, while Saskatchewan has postponed its move to winter weights on its highways, due to warmer-than-average soil temperatures. Manitoba’s water stewardship department announced Friday it will further extend its nutrient application window until midnight, Nov. 19. Variances to Manitoba’s winter fertilizing ban — which typically runs […] Read more

(Photo courtesy Canada Beef Inc.)

U.S. livestock: CME live cattle, hogs continue gains for second day

Chicago | Reuters — Livestock futures traders continued to hunt for cover on their short positions Thursday, resulting in Chicago Mercantile Exchange cattle futures climbing a second day after prices slid to contract lows earlier this week. The Chicago Mercantile Exchange saw live cattle and feeder cattle futures on Wednesday bounce back strongly from contract […] Read more


Hail damage

Crop insurance payouts soar after drought and hail

The final tally will top $700 million and may reach $900 million, 
with more than 6,400 hail claims processed already

Reading Time: 3 minutes While yields may be better than expected in many areas, this season’s drought and hail still hit producers hard. Agricultural Financial Services Corporation expects to pay out between $700 million and $900 million in crop insurance payments — a huge increase from the 2014 tally of $370 million. “The payouts are expected to be higher […] Read more

(Photo courtesy Canada Beef Inc.)

U.S. livestock: CME cattle, hogs surge on bargain-buying after selloff

Chicago | Reuters — The Chicago Mercantile Exchange saw live cattle and feeder cattle futures bounce back strongly from contract lows on Wednesday, with prices hitting their daily limits as traders snapped up bargains and investors covering their short positions. Meanwhile, CME lean hog futures also saw a turnaround as traders bet that contract lows, […] Read more