Livestock
Chicago | Reuters — Chicago Mercantile Exchange live cattle futures fell one per cent on Thursday, pressured by technical selling and as investors took profits following Wednesday’s nearly four-week high, traders and analysts said. Feeder cattle futures also were mostly lower while lean hog futures were mixed, with the front-month contract hitting the lowest levels […] Read more
U.S. livestock: Cattle decline on profit-taking
Trust your people, dare to be different, and know your numbers
Those are just three key tips from four innovative entrepreneurs who shared their methods for boosting productivity
Reading Time: 5 minutes Increasing productivity by 15 per cent by 2020 is one of the pillars of the National Beef Strategy, which was created by beef organizations across Canada and released in January 2015. During the recent Canadian Beef Industry Conference, four experts shared how they increase productivity on their operations. Darren Bevans Darren Bevans, general manager of […] Read more
Western Feedlots closure seen hurting prices
Winnipeg | Reuters — The closure of one of Canada’s biggest cattle feedlots is likely to depress prices of young cattle and the grains used to fatten them, and may increase sales to the U.S., industry officials say. Alberta-based Western Feedlots said Wednesday it will shut feeding operations early in 2017, citing poor market conditions […] Read more
China now taking Canadian bone-in beef
China’s premier has announced the country will accept bone-in Canadian beef from cattle under 30 months of age (UTMs) starting today, according to the Canadian Cattlemen’s Association. The expanded access is expected to add another $10 million per year in exports to China in the short term, the CCA said, given that Canada’s beef cattle […] Read more
China to conditionally lift ban on some U.S. beef
Beijing | Reuters –– China has conditionally lifted an import ban on some shipments of U.S. boneless beef and beef on the bone, the country’s agriculture ministry and quality watchdog said on Thursday. The lifting of the ban applies to imports of beef from animals under 30 months old (UTMs), according to a statement posted […] Read more
Don’t let freemartins become a management headache in your herd
Beef 911: Some will reproduce normally and are well worth keeping, but others need to be culled
Reading Time: 3 minutes With better nutrition and management and a higher incidence of twins in the Charolais, Simmental, and Holstein breeds, some larger herds can have up to a 10 per cent twinning rate. With the odds of 50 per cent of the twins being mixed sexes, it is no wonder freemartins are not an uncommon occurrence. Remember […] Read more
Major Alberta cattle feeder set to shut feedlots
Reuters — One of Canada’s biggest cattle feeding operations, Western Feedlots, said Wednesday it will close feeding operations after marketing the cattle it currently owns, due to poor market conditions. Closure of Western’s feeding operations, likely early in 2017 once its current cattle are sold, will make it more difficult for ranchers to find markets […] Read more
EU, Canada seek to win over CETA doubters with declaration
Vienna/Brussels | Reuters — Canada’s trade minister and the European Union’s trade chief sought Wednesday to overcome the doubts of Austria and other EU members over a planned EU-Canada free trade deal, with a declaration spelling out the limits of the contentious pact. Canadian Trade Minister Chrystia Freeland, speaking in Vienna, said the legally binding […] Read more
Subway to ramp up Canadian meat sourcing
One of the biggest fast-food players operating in Canada has pledged to lock in Canadian suppliers for some of its Canadian stores’ meat supplies by the end of 2016. The U.S.-based sandwich chain Subway said Tuesday it has now introduced “Canadian-raised” ham, turkey and shaved steak at its Canadian restaurants and is “committed” to sourcing […] Read more
Parasites could be costing you big bucks without you even realizing it
Infected cattle often look healthy, but their daily gain might be up to half a pound lower than it should be
Reading Time: 3 minutes Little is known about the impact of parasites on Canadian cattle production. But one thing is sure — resistance to the medication used to treat these parasites is growing. “There’s a lack of local information and a lack of information on parasites in Canada. That’s a problem,” John Gilleard, professor of parasitology in the University […] Read more