Livestock
Agropur has gone back to Plan A for the fate of a major Quebec soft cheese processing plant after halting talks with the province’s goat dairy farmer association. Canada’s biggest dairy co-operative had announced in September last year it would close the former Fromagerie Damafro plant at Saint-Damase, Que. in April this year, but delayed […] Read more
Agropur halts talks with Quebec goat dairy producers
Charges laid in Alberta turkey farm occupation
A high-profile occupation last month by protestors at an Alberta Hutterite colony’s turkey farm has led to criminal charges against four people. RCMP on Wednesday announced charges of one count each of break and enter to commit mischief for a 46-year-old Edmonton man, a 24-year-old woman from Pincher Creek and a 28-year-old woman and 16-year-old […] Read more
Soggy pastures need extra management
Supplemental feeding can cause long-lasting damage, says specialist
Reading Time: 2 minutes Waterlogged pastures can suffer considerable damage when cattle are turned out for supplemental feeding, so management is needed to minimize sod damage, says a provincial forage and beef specialist. “Pelleted or cubed feeds, as well as grain, are perhaps the easiest to manage because animals can be fed these feeds on different areas of the […] Read more
Manitoba agriculture merged into new provincial ministry
Manitoba’s provincial agriculture ministry is being merged with its resource development arm under the oversight of the minister responsible for the latter. Premier Brian Pallister on Wednesday announced a reorganization of his government’s ministries along with a shuffle of his cabinet in the wake of his Progressive Conservative government’s re-election last month. The realignment sees […] Read more
Canada’s beef sector gets an updated strategic plan
Reading Time: < 1 minute An updated five-year plan for the Canadian beef sector will “take advantage of the opportunities facing the industry while simultaneously addressing the challenges.” The 2020-24 National Beef Strategy, a follow-up to a 2015-19 strategy, was developed by the Canadian Beef Advisors, formed by the seven national beef organizations. “The National Beef Strategy has provided real […] Read more
U.S. livestock: Live cattle jump as beef stocks tighten, funds buy
Chicago | Reuters –– U.S. live cattle futures scaled to their highest point in 5-1/2 months on Wednesday as tighter-than-expected beef stocks and rising cash beef prices triggered active fund buying that took prices through key technical resistance levels. Actively traded contracts posted their strongest gains in nearly a month, breaking out of a narrow […] Read more
Fall beef producers’ meetings set to begin
Meetings kick off Thursday, Oct. 24
Reading Time: < 1 minute Alberta Beef Producers is reminding its members that its slate of fall meetings is getting underway. “ABP prides itself on being an organization of producers, run by producers, speaking and working on behalf of the cattle and beef producers in Alberta,” the organization said in a recent e-newsletter. Twenty-five meetings are being held across the […] Read more
U.S. livestock: Lean hogs drop on burdensome supply, export jitters
Chicago | Reuters — U.S. lean hog futures slumped on Tuesday, pressured by abundant near-term hog supplies and concerns that U.S. pork export demand would not be large enough to absorb the expected surplus of meat produced. Hopes for a jump in Chinese demand for U.S. pork have supported hog futures at times in recent […] Read more
Klassen: Feeder market experiences bouncing behaviour
Compared to last week, western Canadian yearling markets traded $2-$4 higher on average; calves traded $2 to as much as $6 higher. The feeder market has recovered after a softer tone earlier in October. Favourable weather in southern Alberta over the past week caused Lethbridge-area feedlots to step forward more aggressively, especially in the lighter […] Read more
The behind-the-scenes effort to tell beef’s story
Besieged beef sector aims to fight hyperbole with facts
Reading Time: 4 minutes It can seem like the ‘beef is bad’ crowd is scoring all the points in the battle to influence consumer attitudes. But the beef sector is fighting back — even if its efforts don’t get the same kind of headline-grabbing attention. One of the main initiatives is being conducted by the Canadian Cattlemen’s Association that […] Read more