Livestock
Chicago | Reuters — U.S. cattle futures slid Thursday as the global spread of the COVID-19 coronavirus raised worries about an economic slowdown that could hurt demand for beef. U.S. beef demand has been strong since last year, helping to push April live cattle futures to a contract high in December. On Friday, though, futures […] Read more
U.S. livestock: CME cattle retreat on demand worries
Hogs up on hopes for sales to China
A good sleep is as important in horses as in people
Let sleeping horses lie
Reading Time: 3 minutes All land mammals require deep sleep for proper physical, mental and emotional functioning. Yet equine sleep is rarely considered as a significant contributor to the well-being of the horse. Perhaps this arises from the flawed presumption that horses can ‘sleep standing up.’ Unfortunately this misunderstanding can have serious implications to the well-being and welfare of […] Read more
U.S. livestock: CME cattle, hogs rise with equities
Livestock futures await export sales data
Chicago | Reuters — U.S. livestock futures strengthened on Wednesday as gains in financial markets helped fuel a recovery from contract lows reached last week in the live cattle market. Live cattle futures have been looking to equity markets for direction as uncertainty about the impact of the coronavirus epidemic has fueled swings in stock […] Read more
Now is a good time to check udders of cows and bred heifers
Paying attention to teat and udder conformation greatly reduces the odds of having a cow with mastitis
Reading Time: 3 minutes Before calving is a good time for scrutinizing the udders of cows and bred heifers. Occasionally chronic infected quarters (probably emanating from the year previous) are highly visible as large swollen quarters compared to the other three. They will often flare up a few weeks before calving as the colostrum is being formed. Usually the […] Read more
More U.S. cattle head North
Reading Time: < 1 minute Live cattle imports from the U.S. are up sharply, says a provincial livestock market analyst. From January to November, nearly 243,000 non-purebred head were imported, an increase of 40 per cent compared to the same period in 2018, said Jason Wood. “Alberta non-purebred cattle imports were more than 145,000 head for the January to November […] Read more
Large animal rescue training available
Reading Time: < 1 minute Alberta Farm Animal Care wants to help prepare producers for the emergencies everyone hopes will never happen — trailer rollovers, animals trapped or stranded, barn fires and more. It’s offering Technical Large Animal Emergency Rescue Awareness training in three locations in March. Each is a two-day session that introduces the latest concepts, techniques, procedures, and […] Read more
U.S. livestock: CME live cattle ease with equities
Chicago lean hogs rise
Chicago | Reuters — Chicago Mercantile Exchange live cattle futures weakened with equities on Tuesday, while hog futures advanced. Moves in the cattle market have nearly mirrored those in equities since last week, traders said, with the global spread of the new coronavirus fueling sharp moves. All three major U.S. stock market indexes dropped more […] Read more
Klassen: Coronavirus fears weigh on feeder markets
Western Canadian feeder prices were not immune to the meltdown of financial and commodity markets last week. Buyers appeared to incorporate a risk discount due to uncertainty in beef demand over the next few months. Compared to last week, larger groups of quality yearlings traded $3-$5 lower while smaller packages were down $4 to as […] Read more
U.S. livestock: CME cattle rise in recovery from contract lows
Hogs close mixed as China uncertainty looms
Chicago | Reuters — Chicago Mercantile Exchange live cattle futures on Monday recovered from contract lows reached last week as concerns temporarily eased about the economic impact from the global coronavirus outbreak. Equity markets also rose on speculation that central banks will cut interest rates to soften the economic blow of the epidemic. “The market […] Read more
Brooks beef processor now CRSB certified
Reading Time: < 1 minute JBS Canada’s beef facility in Brooks is now a certified sustainable beef processor, after successfully completing a third-party audit under standards set by the Canadian Roundtable for Sustainable Beef. “We have set some very aggressive targets in our own 2020 Sustainability plan, and with a lot of hard work, we have met or exceeded our […] Read more
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