For the week ending June 8, Western Canadian feeder cattle markets traded $3 to $6 above week-ago levels. In certain locations, quality packages of 600 pound plus steers were $8 to $10 higher compared to seven days earlier. Alberta packers were buying fed cattle on a dressed basis at $440/cwt, up $2/cwt from the previous […] Read more
Klassen: Feeder cattle market ratchets higher on stronger fed market
Livestock Price Insurance coming to maritime producers
At the Saskatchewan Stock Growers Association (SSGA) conference on June 10 in Swift Current, Sask., Canadian Cattle Association (CCA) vice president Tyler Fulton highlighted the expansion of Livestock Price Insurance, which will be available to producers in Eastern Canada. Initially announced in February, the expansion will finally come into effect sometime this week. “It’s something […] Read more
Strike possibility looms at Calgary Cargill plant
June vote will determine if Calgary Cargill workers will echo Cargill Guelph work stoppage
Nearly 1,000 workers at Cargill’s beef processing plant in Guelph were on strike at the end of May, and there’s a possibility that workers at the Cargill Case Ready plant in Calgary could also hit the picket lines.
Grain versus grass-fed sparks beef sustainability debate
Panelist says carbon sequestration from pasture should give grass-fed the nod
Reading Time: 3 minutes Glacier FarmMedia – Comparing the climate impact of grass-fed versus grain-fed beef isn’t straightforward, according to panelists at the Guelph Organic Conference. A recent study claimed grain-fed beef has less of a carbon impact, but Ontario farmer Ted Zettel believes that research failed to account for the long-term capacity of pasture-based farming to sequester carbon […] Read more
U.S. livestock: CME cattle futures mixed, hog futures lower, amid demand questions
Chicago | Reuters – Chicago Mercantile Exchange cattle futures ended Monday mixed, after conflicting market signals sent feeder cattle futures lower and nearby live cattle contracts slightly higher. Lean hog futures eased, as market participants wrestled with growing uncertainty over consumer demand for meat as the U.S. enters into the traditional summer grilling season. In […] Read more
U.S. livestock: CME cattle stabilize after bird flu roils markets
Chicago | Reuters – Chicago Mercantile Exchange cattle futures stabilized on Friday after U.S. testing of ground beef samples for H5N1 bird flu fuelled wild swings, but markets still closed lower for the week. Live cattle and feeder cattle futures had rallied on Thursday after the U.S. Department of Agriculture said the samples from retail […] Read more
Feedlot verification program ongoing
Reading Time: < 1 minute The Natural Resources Conservation Board has initiated a program to verify that the livestock population of feedlots is within allotted numbers. The Livestock Population Verification Program is a response to evidence provided by complainants indicating that some operators in Lethbridge County may be exceeding the livestock numbers in their permits. Since reviewing that evidence, the […] Read more
Benchmarking cow-calf producers
Reading Time: < 1 minute A new report presents the multi-year business performance of cow-calf producers who participated in the AgriProfit$ Business Analysis Program. Ian Ryan, senior livestock economist with the Alberta government, says this report has a multi-year summary of the economic, productive and financial performance of Alberta cow-calf producers. Participants received a customized business analysis of their operations […] Read more
AI and beef: When good isn’t enough anymore
A recent small purchase from the U.S. had little influence on price
Reading Time: 4 minutes You may run a good beef farm, maybe even a great one. Making yourself remarkable, however, is another matter in the age of explosive artificial intelligence (AI) technology. That was the message from one technology expert speaking to the Alberta Beef Industry Conference earlier this year. Shawn Kanungo, a globally recognized innovation strategist based in […] Read more
Canadian beef digging in against avian influenza
Producers urged to ensure biosecurity practices are implemented
Reading Time: 2 minutes Glacier FarmMedia – Beef cattle producers in Alberta and Manitoba are taking biosecurity measures should the bird flu strain infecting some U.S. dairy herds jump the border and into Canadian beef cattle. “We’re certainly encouraging producers to keep security in mind during this time,” said Karin Schmid with Alberta Beef Producers (ABP). Recommendations include minimizing […] Read more
Cyber-Savvy Farmer
