Livestock
Reading Time: 3 minutes The use of balling guns or administration of other oral products is increasing in the cattle business, including for NSAIDs (nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs). In the old days, a few antibiotics such as long-acting sulfa drugs were given as oral tablets or there were big aspirin pills. These are both actually still available today but seldom […] Read more
Technique matters when administering oral products
There are several things to be aware of when using balling guns and oral techniques
Cargill to restart High River beef plant Monday
Over 750 workers confirmed with COVID-19
Ottawa | Reuters — Cargill said Wednesday it will start to reopen its beef processing plant at High River, Alta. on Monday after the plant was forced to close down because hundreds of workers had become infected with the coronavirus. In a statement, Cargill said it would resume operations after a 14-day temporary shutdown, with […] Read more
U.S. livestock: Hogs mostly lower as packing-plant woes persist
Backlog concerns drag on cattle
Chicago | Reuters — U.S. lean hog futures closed mostly lower on Wednesday, setting back from a one-month high set a day earlier in the benchmark June contract as traders mulled the implications of a presidential order for U.S. meat packing plants to remain open, traders said. President Donald Trump on Tuesday ordered meat-processing plants […] Read more
JBS reopens Minnesota pork plant to cull pigs
Chicago | Reuters — Meat producer JBS said Wednesday it was reopening a Minnesota pork plant shuttered by the pandemic to euthanize up to 13,000 pigs a day for farmers, not to produce meat for consumers. U.S. farmers have been forced to cull livestock as they run short of space to house animals after some […] Read more
Alberta’s cattle sector takes a direct hit from pandemic
Packing plant closures create a backlog that quickly affects the entire production chain
Reading Time: 4 minutes It’s going to be painful, but hopefully COVID-19 in packing plants won’t turn into a nightmare scenario, say the president of the Canadian Cattlemen’s Association and a leading food industry expert. Alberta’s two big facilities — Cargill’s High River plant and JBS’s Brooks plant — process nearly 75 per cent of the country’s beef. Combined, […] Read more
Cattle ranchers urged to lobby their MLAs for quick action
Reduced slaughter means cattle sector needs immediate changes to support programs, says ABP
Reading Time: < 1 minute Alberta Beef Producers is urging its members to write their MLA and ask that they strongly push for additional assistance for the cattle sector following the temporary shutdown of Cargill’s High River beef plant. A form letter prepared by the organization states that “with time, this closure will also impact Canadian’s access to beef and […] Read more
U.S. livestock: Hogs pare gains as Trump plans order to keep meat plants open
Cattle up with wholesale beef prices
Chicago | Reuters — U.S. lean hog futures hit a four-week peak on Tuesday on worries about tightening pork supplies as the coronavirus shutters meat processing plants, but the market pared gains on news that U.S. President Donald Trump plans to order such sites to stay open. June lean hog futures on the Chicago Mercantile […] Read more
Trump orders U.S. meat processing plants to stay open
Advocates call for protective equipment for plant workers
Washington/Chicago | Reuters — President Donald Trump on Tuesday ordered meat-processing plants to stay open to protect the food supply in the United States, despite concerns about coronavirus outbreaks, drawing a backlash from unions that said at-risk workers required more protection. With concerns about food shortages and supply chain disruptions, Trump issued an executive order […] Read more
Piglets aborted, chickens gassed as pandemic slams meat sector
"We have to have less hogs somehow"
Chicago | Reuters — With the pandemic hobbling the meat-packing industry, Iowa farmer Al Van Beek had nowhere to ship his full-grown pigs to make room for the 7,500 piglets he expected from his breeding operation. The crisis forced a decision that still troubles him: He ordered his employees to give injections to the pregnant […] Read more
Klassen: Yearling prices stay sluggish, calves hold value
Compared to last week, western Canadian yearling prices were steady to $4 lower; calves and grass cattle were relatively unchanged. Early in the week, the mood was quite depressing; yearlings were under pressure with feedlot buyers on the sidelines. By Friday, the market appeared to be well established. Backgrounding operators have been active sellers over […] Read more
Cyber-Savvy Farmer
