Livestock
Reading Time: < 1 minute Alberta Pork and its sister organization in Manitoba, Saskatchewan and B.C. are asking Maple Leaf Foods, Olymel and Donald’s Fine Foods to work with them on a new “value-sharing model” that boosts prices for producers. In a letter to the three large pork buyers, the farm groups say “the normal economic principles of supply and […] Read more
Pork groups seek a new deal
U.S. livestock: Hogs down, cattle up on demand issues
Cash cattle values hint at increased demand
Chicago | Reuters — U.S. lean hog futures dipped on Tuesday, as questions continued to grow about whether pork export demand from China will surge and eat through massive domestic stockpiles, traders said. Meanwhile, cattle futures rose as the cash market showed hints of increased demand from packers hungry to supply grocery stores and restaurants […] Read more
Conservation groups rally behind beef sector
If pandemic forces ranchers to exit sector, grasslands will suffer, say conservationists
Reading Time: 3 minutes Government needs to step up its support for the cattle sector — not just for ranchers, but to save the country’s most endangered habitat, say a coalition of conservation groups. Very little of Canada’s grasslands remain and the cattle sector is essential to preserving what’s left, conservation organizations told the federal environment minister in a […] Read more
Klassen: Weaker fed cattle prices weigh on feeder market
Rain-soaked pens sidelined some Alberta feedlots
Compared to last week, western Canadian feeder cattle markets were relatively unchanged but a softer tone was noted in the non-major feeding regions. Most auction barns are in summer mode and the quality of feeders coming on the market is quite variable. However, at major centers in Alberta, healthy strings of yearlings were well bid […] Read more
U.S. meatpacking workers often absent after plants ordered to reopen
"There's still so many risks"
Chicago/Washington | Reuters — Smithfield Foods is missing about a third of its employees at a South Dakota pork plant because they are quarantined or afraid to return to work after a severe coronavirus outbreak, according to the workers’ union. Tyson Foods was forced to briefly close its Storm Lake, Iowa plant — a month […] Read more
U.S. livestock: Futures up as meat production grows
Live cattle up off last week's lows
Chicago | Reuters — U.S. live cattle futures rose on Monday, after plunging to their lowest price in more than a month last week, amid signs of meat production increasing — even as cash market prices continue to strain livestock producers’ profits. Chicago Mercantile Exchange August live cattle rose 0.675 cents, to 96 cents (all […] Read more
U.S. livestock: Live cattle futures touch one-month low
Improving production pressures hog futures
Chicago | Reuters — U.S. live cattle futures dropped to their lowest price in more than a month on Friday, weighed down by expectations for increasing meat production. Beef output has improved as slaughterhouses have resumed operations after closing temporarily in April and May due to outbreaks of the new coronavirus among plant workers. The […] Read more
U.S. livestock: Lean hog futures down on large supplies
CME August cattle also close lower
Chicago | Reuters — U.S. lean hog futures extended a decline on Thursday under pressure from large supplies and rebounding pork production, analysts said. Traders expect meat packers to have ample hogs to slaughter after livestock backed up on farms when processing plants temporarily closed in April and May because of COVID-19 outbreaks among meatpacking […] Read more
Cattle sector knows about learning and adapting
Infectious disease is a constant risk on ranches and feedlots, and we know how to reduce the threat
Reading Time: 3 minutes The COVID-19 outbreak gives us time to reflect on how we do things with our livestock. Cattle producers are in the unique situation in the sense we all know about infectious disease — and mitigating risk. From now on, it won’t be as hard to explain to people how we don’t want visitors, especially around […] Read more
U.S. livestock: Hogs weaken on expectations for abundant supplies
Cattle futures seen as rangebound
Chicago | Reuters — U.S. lean hog futures fell on Wednesday on expectations for abundant pork supplies as meat processors work their way through pigs that backed up on farms when slaughterhouses shut due to the coronavirus pandemic. Traders expect meat packers to start eating into the backlog of hogs within the next two weeks […] Read more
Cyber-Savvy Farmer
