Livestock
Toronto custom burger maker Belmont Meats has become the latest subsidiary of Vancouver food processing firm Premium Brands. Premium Brands, which owns assorted processing and distribution businesses across Western Canada, Ontario and the U.S., on Thursday announced it has paid $50 million – $49.2 million in cash and $800,000 in Premium common shares — for […] Read more
Premium Brands buys Toronto burger processor
CME mulls cash settlement for volatile cattle market
Chicago | Reuters –– CME Group is considering switching to a cash settlement process for its live cattle futures, a managing director said Thursday, as traders continued to complain about extreme volatility. Dave Lehman, managing director of commodity research and product development, said discussions about the new settlement procedure were part of an all-encompassing review […] Read more
German court rejects bid to block Canada-EU trade deal
Berlin/Ottawa | Reuters –– Germany’s Constitutional Court cleared the government on Thursday to approve a free trade accord between the European Union and Canada under defined conditions, boosting the agreement’s chances of passing an EU vote next week. However, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau made clear he was losing patience with the EU over the […] Read more
U.S. chicken chain makes move on Western Canada
The world’s second-biggest quick-service chicken chain by number of stores is set to expand its reach into Western Canada starting next month. Atlanta-based chain Popeyes Louisiana Kitchen announced Tuesday it plans to open a new store in November in the Tamarack area of Edmonton, followed by a store in Calgary’s Forest Lawn area, then “subsequent […] Read more
Millions of chickens reported dead in Hurricane Matthew floods
Chicago | Reuters — Flooding from Hurricane Matthew has killed up to five million poultry birds in North Carolina, most of them chickens, the state’s top environmental official said Wednesday. Donald van der Vaart, secretary of the North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality, also told Reuters that some pits that hold hog waste on farms […] Read more
Germany’s top court hears CETA challenge
Karlsruhe, Germany | Reuters — Germany’s Constitutional Court on Wednesday began hearing a legal challenge to a planned EU-Canada free trade deal that could paralyze the accord. Three German activist groups handed in 125,000 signatures to the court in August in opposition to the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA), which they fear will undermine […] Read more
U.S. livestock: Weak cash prices extend live cattle losses
Chicago | Reuters — Chicago Mercantile Exchange live cattle futures finished lower for a fourth straight session on Wednesday as they marked new lows, hit by softer initial cash prices, traders said. October closed 0.75 cent per pound lower at 96.75 cents, and made a new low of 95.675 cents (all figures US$). December finished […] Read more
U of A researcher first Canadian to win major international award
Lorne Babiuk, vice-president of research at University of Alberta, has helped develop six vaccines and made major contributions to animal health
Reading Time: 2 minutes He’s helped pioneer the development of vaccines used by livestock producers worldwide, and now he’s the first Canadian to be named a World Agriculture Prize Laureate. Lorne Babiuk, world-renowned virologist and vice-president of research at the University of Alberta, was awarded the prestigious prize in recognition of his lifetime achievement. “Vaccines, whether for producers or […] Read more
High costs threaten southern Alberta feedlot sector
Lethbridge County’s ‘head tax,’ WCB premiums, and a looming carbon tax are making his business uneconomical, says a prominent feeder
Reading Time: 4 minutes Other cattle feeders in southern Alberta may suffer the same fate as Western Feedlots if a local $3-per-head tax isn’t reversed. Last month, Western Feedlots — one of the country’s largest with 100,000-head capacity at its facilities near Strathmore, High River, and Mossleigh — announced that it would be winding down cattle ownership and feeding […] Read more
EU anti-globalization politician allowed to stay in Canada
Ottawa | Reuters — European Parliament member and anti-globalization activist Jose Bove will be allowed to stay in Canada after earlier being told to leave the country, according to organizers of an event where he had been scheduled to speak. The Council of Canadians, a social justice non-profit, said on Wednesday that a decision to […] Read more