A weaning ramp is easier on piglets and on the workers who handle them.

Piglet ‘weaning ramp’ earns Aherne Prize

Temple Grandin praises innovative ramp that saves the backs of workers and is gentler on piglets

Reading Time: 2 minutes Glacier FarmMedia – Two employees of HyLife sow farms in La Broquerie, Man., have won the F. X. Aherne Prize for Innovative Pork Production at the 2023 Banff Pork Seminar. In most sow farms, the weaning process typically involves picking up piglets, vaccinating them and separating them by sex. But repeatedly collecting and picking up […] Read more

The cow-calf producer rarely sees grain overload except in accidental consumption circumstances or when cull animals are fed heavier to market.

It’s more rare these days, but grain overload has a big impact

Mixed rations and better storage have cut cases, but take care when increasing grain in a ration

Reading Time: 3 minutes Grain overload has been drastically reduced over the years thanks to nutritionists, total mixed rations and fewer incidents of accidental ingestion. But I want to review the condition, treatment and, most importantly, the ways to prevent it. Grain overload occurs when there is over-consumption of a carbohydrate source, most often grain. I have treated severe […] Read more


A female farmer in a cattle barn using a tablet

Research resources for livestock producers

Reading Time: < 1 minute An Ontario livestock organization has a series of resources aimed at helping farmers put research into practice.  The podcasts, videos and webinar recordings on the Livestock Research Innovation Corporation website “offer timely and credible information that will help them make the best possible decisions in how to manage their farms and raise their livestock,” said […] Read more

(Stephen Ausmus photo courtesy ARS/USDA)

Alberta poultry sector gets late entry for AgriStability

Participation deadline extended to end of month

In the wake of avian influenza outbreaks in the region, Alberta poultry producers have been granted a late participation option to sign up for the federal/provincial AgriStability income stabilization program. Provincial Ag Minister Nate Horner on Wednesday announced the two levels of government have reached an agreement to allow poultry producers late participation in AgriStability […] Read more


(TourEiffel.ca)

Olymel to shut two pork processing plants

Triomphe ham, deli meat plants to close in late April

Meat packer Olymel is set to close a chapter in its acquisition history when it shuts down two Montreal-area pork further-processing plants it bought five years ago. Olymel, a division of ag co-operative Sollio, announced Wednesday it will close the former Aliments Triomphe plant at Blainville and its sister plant about 18 km southeast at […] Read more

CME April 2023 live cattle with 20-, 50- and 100-day moving averages. (Barchart)

U.S. livestock: Live cattle futures ease off contract highs

Chicago lean hog values retreat

Chicago | Reuters — Live cattle futures on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange closed lower on Wednesday as traders booked profits, one day after the benchmark April contract set a life-of-contract high and the U.S. Agriculture Department reported a three per cent year-on-year drop in the size of the U.S. cattle herd. CME April live cattle […] Read more


Brazilian meatpacker JBS SA’s logo on a tower in Jundiai, northwest of Sao Paulo in southeastern Brazil, on June 1, 2017. (File photo: Reuters/Paulo Whitaker)

Beef consumption to rise in China, JBS predicts

China seen as more competitive in domestic chicken, pork markets

Sao Paulo | Reuters — Demand for beef in China is expected to rise as the country still has relatively low per capita consumption, Gilberto Tomazoni, chief executive of JBS SA, said on Wednesday during a business conference. He said Brazil and the U.S., where JBS has meat facilities, are well positioned to meet China’s […] Read more

Photo: Canada Beef

Klassen: Feeder market percolates higher amid finicky buyers

Ontario feedlots bring demand for West's calves

Compared to last week, western Canadian feeder cattle markets traded steady to $4 higher on average. Certain pockets in Manitoba and eastern Saskatchewan had steer calves up $4-$8 from week-ago levels. Alberta values were relatively unchanged from seven days earlier on all weight categories. Steady demand was noted from Ontario feedlots for calves while Alberta […] Read more


CME April 2023 live cattle with 20-, 50- and 100-day moving averages. (Barchart)

U.S. livestock: April live cattle down slightly

U.S. cattle inventory report shows steep decline; lean hogs also lower

Chicago | Reuters — U.S. live cattle futures climbed to new contract highs early in the session before settling slightly lower on Tuesday, as traders assessed U.S. cattle inventory levels ahead of the U.S. Agriculture Department’s biannual report. After the market closed, USDA reported that the U.S. beef cow herd dropped to 28.9 million head, […] Read more

(Lauri Patterson/E+/Getty Images)

U.S. seeks new dispute panel over Canadian dairy imports

Panel would be second on matter since CUSMA took effect

Washington | Reuters — The United States on Tuesday said it was seeking a second trade dispute settlement panel over Canada’s dairy import quotas, charging that Canada was still not meeting obligations to open its market to U.S. producers. The U.S. Trade Representative’s office said it was challenging Canada’s revised tariff-rate quota (TRQ) allocations that […] Read more