Livestock
Chicago | Reuters — Chicago Mercantile Exchange live cattle futures consolidated on Friday after setting a string on contract highs recently, while lean hog futures eased. The cattle market looks ripe for a correction after futures rose this month on tightening U.S. supplies, brokers said. However, cattle inventories look even smaller than expected as ranchers […] Read more
U.S. livestock: CME live cattle consolidate after hitting new contract high
Chicago lean hogs end lower
Flu experts gather with H5N1 risk on the agenda
Threat to humans from current strain seen as low
London | Reuters — The world’s leading experts on influenza met this week to discuss the threat posed to humans by a strain of H5N1 avian flu that has caused record numbers of bird deaths around the world in recent months. The group of scientists, regulators and vaccine manufacturers meets twice a year to decide […] Read more
Sollio books deeper loss for 2022
Olymel's fresh pork business takes biggest hit
Domestic and international market-moving events have dragged hard on the year-end bottom line for Sollio Cooperative Group, particularly in its fresh pork business. Quebec-based Sollio — which operates the ag input and farm service business Sollio Agriculture, meat packer Olymel and hardware retailer BMR — on Thursday reported full-year revenues of $8.876 billion for its […] Read more
U.S. livestock: CME cattle set high on Brazil halting beef exports to China
April hogs close lower, June up
Chicago | Reuters — Chicago Mercantile Exchange live cattle futures reached a contract high on Thursday amid hopes that Chinese importers will buy more U.S. beef after rival supplier Brazil suspended shipments to China, analysts said. Brazil said it would halt beef exports to China, the main destination for its overseas shipments, after confirming a […] Read more
U.S. livestock: CME hog futures sag as pork prices retreat
February live cattle up, April down
Chicago | Reuters — Chicago Mercantile Exchange lean hog futures closed lower on Wednesday, retreating from six-week highs set a day earlier as wholesale pork prices backed down after spiking higher early in the week. Live cattle futures closed mixed, underpinned by surging beef prices. At the CME, April hogs settled down 2.55 cents at […] Read more
Brazil to halt beef exports to China after BSE case
Indications point to 'atypical' case
Sao Paulo | Reuters — Brazil’s beef exports to China will be halted starting Thursday after a case of bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) was confirmed in the northern state of Para, the country’s agriculture and livestock ministry said on Wednesday. The suspension is part of an animal health pact previously agreed between China and Brazil […] Read more
Heifer exodus a year ago means smaller calf crop coming
The number of heifers being sold jumped substantially in the first half of 2022
Reading Time: < 1 minute More heifers went to market last year. “Alberta beef producers retained fewer breeding heifers for replacement in 2022, suggesting expansion is not in the immediate future,” said provincial livestock economist Ann Boyda. “The Canfax Cattle on Feed reports show a 9.4 per cent increase in heifer placement in feedlots in 2022 compared to 2021. Heifer […] Read more
U.S. livestock: Cattle, hog futures climb
Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) cattle and hog futures came out of their U.S. Presidents Day break trading higher, with front-month live cattle posting eight-year highs. CME February 2023 live cattle touched 164.975 cents/lb. in Tuesday’s trade before closing at 164.75 cents, up 1.175 cents from Friday’s close and the highest close for the front-month contract […] Read more
New training for feedlot workers
Reading Time: < 1 minute The Alberta Cattle Feeders’ Association has created a series of training videos for feedlot employees. The short videos, made by feedlot veterinarian Dr. Joyce Van Donkersgoed, are meant to supplement training provided by herd health veterinarians and nutritionists. “Without well-trained and competent feedlot processors and pen riders, it is hard to effectively manage animal health […] Read more
Are feed-efficient cattle the best bet for climate change?
Researcher aims to find out if those cows are better able to deal with sweltering heat and bitter cold
Reading Time: 3 minutes Your most feed-efficient cattle also may be the best when Mother Nature turns the thermostat way up or way down. And that’s increasingly important, says a leading beef researcher. “Significant extremes have become more noticeable,” said Gleise Silva, an expert in cattle nutrition and an assistant professor at the University of Alberta. “What I would […] Read more