Alberta packers were buying fed cattle in the range of $139 to $140 last week, up $1 to $2 from seven days earlier. Strength in the nearby fed cattle market along with the recent rally in the live cattle futures has been supportive for calves under 600 pounds. Compared to last week, Western Canadian yearling […] Read more
Klassen: Fed cattle prices supporting calf market
Ontario’s beef set-aside AgriRecovery plan underway
Applications for first intake due Dec. 22
A set-aside program has formally been launched to help Ontario’s 6,800-odd cattle producers maintain market-ready animals while Eastern Canada’s biggest beef slaughter plant remains closed. Federal and provincial officials on Monday announced applications are now open for the Canada-Ontario COVID-19 AgriRecovery Beef Emergency Feed Maintenance Initiative, with applications for the first intake period due by […] Read more
Guelph beef plant idled against COVID-19 outbreak
Cattle set-aside plan en route, BFO says
Agrifood giant Cargill is temporarily halting production at its beef processing plant at Guelph, Ont. in the wake of a significant COVID-19 outbreak among employees. The company announced it would “begin the process to temporarily idle” the Dunlop Drive plant effective Thursday (Dec. 17). “This was a difficult decision for our team who are operating […] Read more
Klassen: Feeder cattle market volatility continues
Compared to last week, western Canadian feeder cattle markets traded $3 lower to $3 higher. Prices were generally steady to $3 higher on Friday after the U.S. Department of Agriculture lowered its estimate for second-quarter beef production by 125 million lbs. in Thursday’s world agricultural supply and demand estimates (WASDE). Fed and feeder cattle futures […] Read more
Let’s get intense — cattle producer amps the density in his system
Ryan Boyd will put 400 yearlings on a quarter-acre as part of a system to boost forage productivity
Reading Time: 3 minutes Ryan Boyd has travelled the world to see how producers graze their cattle, and has figured out how to make his cattle work for him. Strip grazing, high stocking densities and a diverse range of plant species are at the core of the system developed by the Manitoba farmer, who as a 2019 Nuffield Scholar […] Read more
Klassen: Feeder market takes direction from live cattle futures
Compared to last week, western Canadian yearling markets traded steady to $4 lower; midweight calves traded $3 lower to $3 higher and calves under 550 lbs. were relatively unchanged. Yearling supplies are limited at this time of year but demand is also hard to find. These cattle will come on the fed market during the […] Read more
U.S. livestock: Cattle, hog futures fall as accelerating pandemic stirs demand concern
Chicago | Reuters – U.S. cattle and hog futures fell on Monday as cash beef and pork prices weakened and as accelerating coronavirus infection rates prompted tighter restrictions on restaurants and other food service outlets, threatening meat sales. Meanwhile, renewed tensions between the United States and China, after fresh U.S. sanctions on 14 Chinese officials, […] Read more
Klassen: Feeder market stabilizes on demand hopes
Western Canadian feeder cattle markets were relatively unchanged compared to seven days earlier; however, market reports were quite variable depending on the region and weight category. In most cases, prices for calves under 550 lbs. were $2 to as much as $10 higher while values in the heavier weight categories were $3 lower to $3 […] Read more
The cattle backlog is easing, but feedlots are still hurting
Feedlot owners losing $200 to $300 a head even though glut of market-ready cattle is smaller
Reading Time: 4 minutes While the backlog of cattle from packing plant closures and slowdowns last spring has dwindled, feedlot owners are still being hit hard. In the spring, there was a backlog of 130,000 cattle that needed to be processed. That number is now down to 30,000, thanks to no more further shutdowns at packing plants, which have […] Read more
Some cattle producers have a beef with fake-meat labelling
Is it misleading to use words like burger and meat for veggie substitutes?
Reading Time: 6 minutes Plant-based protein. Simulated meat. Alternative protein. When it comes to labelling fake meat, what’s in a name? Well, it depends on who you ask. Some say using words like ‘burger’ or ‘sausage’ to describe vegetarian fare is misleading. “To me, it’s obvious we’re producing the best meat product, because everybody else wants to call theirs […] Read more
Cyber-Savvy Farmer
