Livestock
Reading Time: < 1 minute ‘Multiply the price of a steer calf times two, and that is the price you can afford to pay for a cow.’ Does this rule of thumb still hold true? That and other common sayings in the cattle biz are the subject of a new fact sheet by Canfax. “Rules of thumb can help evaluate […] Read more
Rules of thumb when pricing cattle
U.S. livestock: CME lean hogs recover on bargain buying, trade hopes
Chicago | Reuters — Chicago Mercantile Exchange lean hog futures rallied on Tuesday in a technical and bargain-buying rebound from one-month lows amid hopes that China would step up U.S. pork imports as the country’s domestic pork prices have soared. The hog herd in China, the world’s largest pork market, has been decimated by African […] Read more
Klassen: Adverse weather tempers feeder market
Compared to last week, western Canadian feeder cattle markets traded $3-$5 lower. Excessive snow in Alberta and ongoing rains across Manitoba and Saskatchewan set a negative tone. The market appeared to incorporate a risk discount, although many auction barns had limited numbers on offer. Buyers once again focused on local cattle and avoided transportation over […] Read more
U.S. livestock: CME hogs limit down on U.S.-China trade jitters
Chicago | Reuters — Chicago Mercantile Exchange hog futures fell their daily limit on Monday, declining for a fifth straight session as an aggressive slaughter pace and uncertainty about this week’s U.S. trade talks with China overshadowed rising pork cut-out values, traders said. The selloff came as U.S. and Chinese deputy trade negotiators launched a […] Read more
African swine fever: It’s not the ‘lazy’ virus — it’s unthinking people
African swine fever is spreading like wildfire in Asia, but it’s because people are bringing contaminated pork home
Reading Time: 6 minutes African swine fever continues to cut a devastating swath across Asia as North American pork industry officials work to keep the deadly disease off our shores. “The African swine fever virus is spreading very quickly throughout the Southeast Asia region,” Dr. Egan Brockhoff, veterinary counsellor for the Canadian Pork Council said in a Sept. 20 […] Read more
Agropur to shut Montreal-area ice cream plant
A Quebec ice cream processing plant absorbed in 2017 by Canada’s biggest dairy co-operative will shut its doors in about 10 months’ time. Agropur Co-operative announced Friday it plans to close the former Les Aliments Lebel plant at Lachute, Que., just northwest of Montreal, in August 2020 and transfer the plant’s operations to other Agropur […] Read more
U.S. meat industry sues California for animal protection ‘overreach’
Reuters — California was sued on Friday by the largest U.S. trade group for meat packers and processors, which wants to block enforcement of a voter-approved measure requiring farmers to provide more space for animals being raised for food. The North American Meat Institute, whose members include processors such as Tyson Foods and retailers including […] Read more
JBS USA to produce pork without ractopamine
Chicago | Reuters — JBS USA will remove a growth drug banned by Beijing from its U.S. hog supply, the company said on Friday, accelerating the competition for pork exports as China grapples with a devastating pig disease. The meat packer’s move away from the drug ractopamine, a feed additive, shows how companies are maneuvering […] Read more
U.S. livestock: Hogs extend losing streak
Chicago | Reuters — U.S. hog futures fell for the fourth day in a row on Friday, extending a losing streak that pulled prices off a two-week high hit on Monday. Traders said gains in the futures earlier in the week outpaced cash market strength and the spread between the two markets needed correcting. Cattle […] Read more
New meat recall prolongs Ryding-Regency shutdown
Ryding-Regency Meat Packers remains shut down, making an already tight processing capacity situation event more challenging for Ontario farmers. The Toronto company, along with St. Ann’s Food, announced a recall Tuesday of a long list of its products because of concerns with E. coli O157:H7. More products were added to the recall on Thursday. The […] Read more