Livestock
Reuters — Canada, fearful of talk by the U.S. presidential candidates to reopen the North American Free Trade Agreement, could use the opportunity to push for a better deal on worker mobility, dispute resolutions and other issues, Canadian negotiators of the original pact said. Republican Donald Trump calls NAFTA the worst trade deal signed by […] Read more
NAFTA negotiators see gains for Canada if pact reopened
Ontario hogs confirmed with senecavirus
A hog virus watched closely in North America for its strong family resemblance to foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) has turned up in hogs in Ontario. Officials with hog industry body Ontario Pork reported Monday that senecavirus A, formerly called Seneca Valley virus or SVV, has been confirmed in the province. Neighbouring industry body Manitoba Pork said […] Read more
Cargill profit jumps on beef demand, grain margins
Reuters — Global commodities trader Cargill reported a sharply higher quarterly net profit on Tuesday, helped by rising beef demand and stronger grain trading and processing margins. The privately held company’s net income rose 66 per cent to $852 million in the first quarter ended Aug. 31 from $512 million a year earlier (all figures […] Read more
Klassen: Prolonged negative margins weigh on feeder market
Western Canadian feeder cattle prices traded $5-$10 lower last week, with certain auction barns experiencing a week-over-week decline of $15. After 15 months of devastating margins, feedlots have thrown in the towel. If one of the largest, most sophisticated and efficient feedlots shuts the doors, the smaller players are wondering what they’re doing in this […] Read more
U.S. livestock: Bargain buying rallies CME lean hogs
Chicago | Reuters — Most Chicago Mercantile Exchange lean hog contracts ended sharply higher on Monday, fueled by bargain buying following futures’ plunge by their three-cent/lb. price limit on Friday, said traders. October, which will expire on Oct. 14, closed down 0.1 cent/lb. at 48.925 cents (all figures US$). Most-actively traded December ended 0.2 cent […] Read more
Hog producers taking a hit as prices plunge once again
The low dollar is taking away some of the pain caused by a big increase in the American pig herd
Reading Time: 3 minutes The roller-coaster ride for hog producers has once again taken a steep downward plunge. “Prices really started to slide a couple of months ago,” said Marcel Rupert, who has an 800-sow farrow-to-finish operation north of Drumheller. And they may have a ways to go. The price of feeder pigs is a leading indicator in the […] Read more
Three Albertans mentoring new researchers
Reading Time: 2 minutes A trio of Albertans is among the mentors in the 2016-17 edition of the Beef Researcher Mentorship program. The program pairs researchers with cattle producers and beef leaders so the academics can better understand “the needs of the beef industry in practical and meaningful ways,” said the Beef Cattle Research Council. Participants also receive a […] Read more
Austria’s chancellor sees CETA on right track
Vienna | Reuters –– Austria’s government on Monday seemed to have found common ground on a free trade agreement between the European Union and Canada with Chancellor Christian Kern, who has criticized the pact in the past, saying negotiations were on the right track. Social Democrat Kern’s opposition to the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement […] Read more
Avian flu quarantine ends for Ontario duck farm
A federal quarantine has been lifted for a duck farm near St. Catharines, Ont. where birds were confirmed in July with low-pathogenicity (“low-path”) avian flu. The Canadian Food Inspection Agency has reported the quarantine was lifted effective Sept. 20, at the end of a 21-day waiting period after the commercial-scale farm was depopulated, cleaned and […] Read more
U.S. livestock: Hogs, cattle tumble to multi-year lows on supply woes
Chicago | Reuters — U.S. hog and cattle futures plummeted to the lowest levels in years on Friday, extending recent declines amid abundant animal and meat supplies and as investors squared up their books on the final day of the quarter, traders said. Chicago Mercantile Exchange lean hogs fell roughly five per cent for their […] Read more