Livestock
Chicago | Reuters — U.S. lean hog futures rose their daily limit on Wednesday, hitting their highest in nearly two years on tight frozen stocks and expectations for strong Chinese demand, traders said. The U.S. Agriculture Department’s cold storage report issued on Tuesday afternoon fueled buying on Wednesday. “Belly and trim stocks are at four-year […] Read more
U.S. livestock: Hog futures limit-up to highest since May 2019
Cattle futures bounce on bargain buying
Beef checkoff dollars fund 29 projects
Reading Time: < 1 minute The Beef Cattle Research Council has awarded $2.9 million to 29 projects in the latest round of funding paid for by checkoff dollars. Priority areas are animal health and welfare, feed production and utilization, food safety and environmental stewardship. Knowledge transfer is also a priority, said vice-chair Craig Lehr, a cow-calf producer and feedlot operator […] Read more
Cattle CSI: Big-time wrecks require careful sleuthing
Turns out that all four of the mysterious cases were examples of ‘minerals gone bad,’ says vet
Reading Time: 5 minutes Not all minerals play nice, and some can create serious health problems in cattle. “The thing that makes the phone ring the most are feed- or nutritional-related disease outbreaks,” Dr. Elizabeth Homerosky of Veterinary Agri-Health Services said at the recent virtual Red-Bow Ranching Conference. “The most common thing, especially this time of year, are downer […] Read more
U.S. livestock: Hog futures rise to highest since July 2019
April cattle dip to below 30-day moving average
Chicago | Reuters — Chicago Mercantile Exchange live hog futures rose to their highest since July 2019 on Tuesday, underpinned by strong demand. Cattle futures weakened for the fourth time in five days, with the most-active April live cattle contract sinking to a one-month low as activity at meat processors picked up with improving weather […] Read more
FCC: Cattle feeders and backgrounders to struggle
Reading Time: < 1 minute Not bad for some, not good for others sums up Farm Credit Canada’s outlook for the livestock sector this year. “Farrow-to-finish operations will continue to witness pressures on margins, while isowean/ weanling operators will see a turnaround in profits,” states the FCC forecast. “Cow-calf margins should be strong while feedlot operators and backgrounders may struggle […] Read more
Klassen: Feeder cattle demand surges
Cow-calf producers already thinking spring
Compared to last week, western Canadian yearlings sold $3-$5 higher while calves traded $6 to as much as $10 higher. The return of moderate temperatures enhanced buying enthusiasm across the Prairies. Strength in deferred live cattle futures appeared to offset strong feed grain values. Yearling prices were rather soft through January and the first half […] Read more
U.S. livestock: Live cattle futures fall as supplies seen rising
April lean hogs up from Friday
Chicago | Reuters — U.S. live cattle futures fell on Monday, pressured by expectations of rising supplies as improving weather conditions in the southern U.S. Plains will allow meat processors to increase their slaughter, traders said. A deep freeze last week across Texas and the southern U.S. Plains caused power failures that shut down meat […] Read more
U.S. livestock: Live cattle end week lower
Hogs down on Olymel's plan to ship Canadian hogs south
Chicago | Reuters — U.S. live cattle futures rose on Friday, but failed to end the week higher as a cold snap across the U.S. Plains and into Texas hampered slaughterhouses and backed up cattle, traders said. “There’s still a big mess,” said Dennis Smith, commodity broker at Archer Financial. “The good news is, the […] Read more
Olymel shipping backlogged hogs to U.S.
Company-owned hogs to go south after COVID closes Red Deer plant
Winnipeg | Reuters — Olymel said Friday it was shipping pigs to the United States to help clear a backlog of hogs after it had to temporarily close its Red Deer, Alta. slaughter plant because of a coronavirus outbreak. Olymel shut the plant on Wednesday and declared force majeure — unforeseeable circumstances that prevent contract […] Read more
Are you a cattle producer thinking about EU certification?
Reading Time: < 1 minute The Canadian Cattlemen’s Association has a resource for producers wanting their herds to be eligible for EU beef programs. Cow-calf producers and feedlot operators must meet specific production requirements for cattle used to produce beef for export to the European Union. That includes not using growth-enhancing products (GEPs). The CCA web page has a summary […] Read more
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