Livestock
Just when it appeared Alberta’s on-farm outbreak of porcine epidemic diarrhea (PED) may have been a one-off, the province has confirmed a second case. Officials with Alberta Agriculture and Forestry on Friday announced they’ve confirmed and are investigating a new PED outbreak at a 600-head farrow-to-finish hog operation at an unspecified location. “At this time, […] Read more
PED not yet done with Alberta
U.S. livestock: Hogs recover on hopes for China trade talks
Chicago | Reuters — U.S. hog futures jumped on Thursday on increased optimism about the potential for progress in trade talks between Washington and Beijing. The top U.S. and Chinese trade negotiators resumed high-level negotiations to hash out a deal that could end their trade war, just over a week before a U.S.-imposed deadline to […] Read more
Olymel to close Quebec City processing plant
La Coop federee’s meatpacking arm is set to shut an aging Quebec City further-processing plant it took over last year. Olymel announced Tuesday it will close the former Aliments Triomphe plant in the Vanier area of Quebec City effective May 10, affecting 47 employees. The Vanier plant’s production, which includes cretons (meat spreads), bologna, pepperoni […] Read more
To ensure breeding soundness, make sure warts are treated
Beef 911: In the vast majority of cases, penile warts can be successfully and simply dealt with
Reading Time: 3 minutes When examining bulls, especially young ones, for breeding soundness, one of the more common issues we see involving the bull’s penis are warts. This article will go into the cause, treatment, clinical signs, and outcomes expected when dealing with penile warts. All purebred breeders will get some eventually and commercial cattlemen may have some crop […] Read more
U.S. livestock: Hogs slide to four-month low on burdensome supply
Chicago | Reuters — U.S. hog futures dropped to their lowest prices in four months on Wednesday under pressure from large supplies and low pork prices. Farmers have ramped up hog production due to low prices for grains used for feed and as processing companies have built new plants to slaughter swine in recent years. […] Read more
Ontario beef checkoff to rise by $1.50
Ontario beef farmers have approved an increase of $1.50 in checkoff per animal to fund an ambitious industry-wide marketing effort for Ontario beef. Producers at the Beef Farmers of Ontario (BFO) annual meeting in Mississauga on Wednesday voted 87 per cent in favour of the plan. A similar plan was rejected at last year’s annual […] Read more
U.S. livestock: Cattle futures jump on snowstorm
Chicago | Reuters — U.S. cattle futures approached a one-year high on Tuesday on concerns that wintry weather in the middle of the country will temporarily tighten supplies. Snow in states such as Kansas, Nebraska and Iowa this week is expected to slow the transportation of cattle to processing plants run by companies such as […] Read more
The situation is better, but Alberta’s pork sector not out of the woods yet
After a dreadful summer, prices are better but producers still losing money, says analyst
Reading Time: 2 minutes Hog markets have improved since early fall, but the situation is far from great. “In terms of the current prices, there’s nothing spectacular,” said Ron Gietz, an extension specialist with Alberta Agriculture and Forestry. Still, that’s an improvement on the spectacularly bad period last summer when hog prices plunged by more than 40 per cent […] Read more
U.S. livestock: Lean hogs bounce on short-covering, technical buying
Chicago | Reuters — U.S. lean hog futures ended higher for the first time in three sessions on Friday on short covering and technical buying ahead of the extended Presidents Day holiday weekend, traders and analysts said. Futures had been technically oversold after sinking to seven-month lows early this week under pressure from large hog […] Read more
U.S. livestock: Lean hogs stumble on weak pork, trade unease
Chicago | Reuters — U.S. lean hog futures fell for a second straight day on Thursday as weak pork prices and nervousness about trade talks between the U.S. and China weighed on the market, traders and analysts said. Officials from both countries are meeting in Beijing this week to try to hammer out a deal […] Read more