Livestock
Reuters — An extended period of hot, dry weather that risks worsening wildfires in Alberta began on Friday, with special weather alerts in place across Western Canada and officials urging people to be vigilant. More than 100 wildfires have ignited across Alberta since last week, forcing tens of thousands of people to evacuate homes, farms […] Read more
Alberta wildfire fighters prepare for hot, dry days ahead
Temperatures to approach 30 C next week
U.S. livestock: Cattle futures rise on falling corn prices
Chicago lean hogs also firm
Chicago | Reuters — CME Group cattle futures contracts rallied on Friday as a government forecast for a record-large U.S. corn harvest raised expectations that feeding costs will weaken as the supply base rises. Hog futures ended firm on signs of improving values in the cash market, traders said. Most actively traded June lean hog […] Read more
New report shows poultry sector burdened by expectations
Simpson Centre paper calls for increased research, financial sustainability for sector
Updated, May 17 — The Simpson Centre for Food and Agricultural Policy has released a report detailing its findings on challenges now facing Canada’s poultry sector. The report, co-authored by research assistant Shawn Wiskar and centre director Guillaume Lhermie and released Thursday, used a focus group of six stakeholders in the Canadian poultry industry. It […] Read more
Alberta fairs, auctions offer space for evacuated livestock
Central areas catch break with moisture, cooler weather; CN service resumes
Alberta’s ag societies and livestock auction marts are offering up pen space for producers forced to evacuate animals away from dozens of wildfires in the province’s northern and west-central regions. As of early Thursday evening, the province was tracking 76 active wildfires, of which 22 were listed as “out of control” and 17 as “being […] Read more
U.S. livestock: Hog futures fall on weak export data
CME cattle futures mixed
Chicago | Reuters — CME Group hog futures fell on Thursday on poor export demand for pork, traders said. Cattle futures were mixed, with live cattle easing on weakening trades in the cash market. Feeder cattle contracts were supported by falling corn prices. The U.S. Agriculture Department said on Thursday morning that beef export sales […] Read more
U.S. Supreme Court upholds California’s pig confinement law
Dissent suggests 'substantial burden against interstate commerce'
Reuters — The U.S. Supreme Court on Thursday preserved a California law banning the sale of pork in America’s most-populous state from pigs kept in tightly confined spaces, rejecting an industry challenge claiming that the voter-backed animal welfare measure impermissibly regulates out-of-state farmers. The justices voted 5-4 to uphold a lower court’s dismissal of a […] Read more
More information is better when looking for your next herd sire
Scrotal size is a key indicator and getting reliable, consistent measurements isn’t difficult
Reading Time: 3 minutes Scrotal circumference and scrotal palpation are among the quickest, repeatable and fact-revealing pieces of information we can get on bulls. Some breeds get away with less scrotal size, but we have also seen that scrotal size, on average, has gone up through selection. Because it is quite heritable, fertility improves. However, we are probably reaching […] Read more
Unique year-round grazing method pays major dividends
Constant searching for new grazing ideas has led Dave Sammons to a strategy that works
Reading Time: 3 minutes Cow-calf producer Dave Sammons has come up with a unique and varied grazing strategy that has cut his workload and feed bills while boosting organic matter. His system on his mixed farm near Gleichen includes stubble grazing into early winter, then moving the herd onto cover crops, and then onto corn. “The grazing has helped […] Read more
U.S. livestock: Hog, cattle futures fall on poor fundamental outlook
Corn prices expected to remain weak
Chicago | Reuters — Chicago Mercantile Exchange hog futures fell on Wednesday, as poor demand for pork smothered any bargain-buying attempts to pull prices away from contract lows hit earlier this week. Cattle contracts also were lower, but the declines were kept in check by expectations that corn prices will remain weak and keep feeding […] Read more
New beef sector scholarship
Reading Time: < 1 minute The Canadian Beef Check-Off Agency has created a $2,000 scholarship for students pursuing post-secondary studies in agriculture, ag-business and research. Applicants need to make “a creative video no longer than two minutes, showcasing how their background in agriculture, paired with their education, can help grow the future of the beef and veal industry.” For details, […] Read more