Livestock
The Saskatchewan government plans to temporarily subsidize livestock producers entering the Western Livestock Price Insurance Program (WLPIP) against its recent jump in program premium costs. The province on Thursday announced it will provide $5 million to “partially offset” WLPIP premiums, which it noted have risen “significantly” since the end of February this year on COVID-19-induced […] Read more
Saskatchewan to adjust WLPIP premiums for producers
Province also opts in to fund AgriRecovery set-aside plan
Chicken farmers cut production, but no aid sought
Reading Time: < 1 minute Canada’s chicken farmers have reduced production but won’t be asking for financial help from government, says the Chicken Farmers of Canada. “We’ll take care of this ourselves,” said Benoît Fontaine, the organization’s chair. However, chicken farmers may have to “depopulate flocks” if there’s an escalation in slaughter plant closures and should that happen, they want […] Read more
More Mexican beef headed to U.S. dinner tables as supply crunch bites
"I think we're going to leap past Canada this year"
Mexico City/Chicago | Reuters — More Mexican steaks and other beef cuts are headed north of the border after the coronavirus outbreak has hobbled U.S. meat processing plants, potentially offsetting fears of shortages affecting businesses from fast-food chains to grocery stores but angering U.S. ranchers. The Mexican industry chalks up the export growth to new […] Read more
U.S. livestock: Lean hog futures dip after belly prices dive
Cattle down on ideas of beef prices peaking
Chicago | Reuters — U.S. lean hog futures fell on Wednesday on technical selling and signs that wholesale pork prices may have peaked after a massive run-up due to closings at meat-packing plants as COVID-19 sickened workers, traders said. The U.S. pork cutout value fell on Tuesday afternoon by nearly $9/cwt, to $112.82, with pork […] Read more
Alberta hog farmers say financial aid not nearly enough
Reading Time: < 1 minute The provincial government has made a number of moves to support farmers in the province. In addition to providing $17 million for the cattle set-aside program, the province is increasing the interim payment under AgriStability from 50 per cent to 75 per cent for the hog sector. “This will put up to $25 million in […] Read more
Verified Beef looks to remote audit system
Reading Time: < 1 minute Verified Beef Production Plus (VBP+) is exploring new ways to deliver certification services to producers. A new electronic audit management system has entered a pilot testing phase, and the organization is looking at ways to deliver VBP+ certification services by remote audit. The goal is to ensure the same conclusions are determined from the remote […] Read more
U.S. livestock: June live cattle limit up on soaring beef prices
Large supplies of hogs, cattle still loom over futures
Chicago | Reuters — U.S. live cattle futures closed higher on Tuesday, with nearby contracts rising the daily maximum, as surging wholesale beef prices and expectations U.S. beef and pork production would drop spurred speculative buying, traders said. Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) June live cattle futures settled up 4.5 cents, the expanded daily limit, at […] Read more
Klassen: Feeder market banks on fed cattle recovery
Compared to last week, western Canadian yearling prices were $4 higher to $4 lower, with the exception of southern Alberta where quality packages were unchanged to $6 higher. Calves and grass cattle traded $2 lower to as much as $5 higher. Certain auctions in Western Canada reported calves trading $4 to as much as $8 […] Read more
Opposition MPs critique government’s COVID-19 response for ag sector
Pandemic puts ag committee meeting online
Ottawa — Opposition MPs used the first meeting of the Commons standing committee on agriculture and agri-food since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic to critique the federal Liberals’ $252 million aid package for farmers and food processors. During the May 5 online meeting, Quebec MP Richard Lehoux, the Conservatives’ associate agriculture critic, charged the […] Read more
U.S. livestock: Live cattle futures lower on profit-taking
August, October cattle limit down; June hogs also down
Chicago | Reuters — U.S. live cattle futures closed lower on Monday, with some contract months falling their daily three-cent limit on profit-taking amid signs the U.S. meat-packing sector was stepping up beef production, traders said. Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) June live cattle futures settled down 1.975 cents at 92.675 cents/lb., after surging to a […] Read more
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