Livestock
The rural life of rearing rare breed sheep and nurturing alpacas is a world away for many urban teenagers. Yet a British school near Liverpool has opened its pupils to a wealth of jobs in agriculture and the benefits of nature with its own farm.
Urban school farm opens world of opportunity to British teens
Students from the underprivileged community have won acclaim at ag fairs, and some have gone on to be farmers, vets
U.S. livestock: Cattle futures firm on hopes of higher cash prices
The trade is expecting a smaller hog herd, Reuters survey shows
Chicago Mercantile Exchange cattle futures firmed on Wednesday amid technical trading, weakness in U.S. corn futures and hopes of higher cash prices next week as packers close out the year, analysts said.
Alberta Lamb Producers seeks board member
Reading Time: < 1 minute The Alberta Lamb Producers board of directors has an opening for one interim director-at- large position. This position may be filled by a producer living in any area of Alberta (i.e.no zone requirements), and will be filled through appointment by the board. The application deadline is Dec. 31. Applicants must be a sheep producer residing […] Read more
U.S. livestock: CME cattle futures fall on technical trading ahead of reports
Lean hog futures also ended the day lower
Chicago Mercantile Exchange cattle futures closed lower on Tuesday on technical trading and investors adjusting their positions ahead of a series of key government reports, analysts said.
Taking the angst out of cow-calf record keeping
BCRC course designed to help cow-calf producers choose most relevant traits to track
Reading Time: 3 minutes When some beef producers see the amount of record keeping done by purebred operations or participants in VBP+, they may thank their lucky stars that they don’t have to do the same. But experts at the Beef Cattle Research Council would say that genetic record keeping doesn’t have to be cumbersome for cow-calf or commercial […] Read more
Klassen: Feeder market ends year on mixed sentiment
Some feedlots becoming backed up with heavier cattle, setting negative tone for feed complex
Western Canadian feeder cattle markets were unchanged, to as much as $10 lower compared to last week.
Demand for heifers was suffering last week. A weaker tone was noted in the Eastern prairie regions as Ontario demand appeared to evaporate last week. Alberta packers were buying fed cattle on a dressed basis in the range of $368-$370/cwt, down $7-$8 from last week.
Feed weekly outlook: U.S. corn imports keep lid on Prairie feed grains
Mild Prairie weather contributing to lower feed demand
Glacier FarmMedia – Feed prices for barley and wheat across much of Western Canada are very likely to remain low until the end of winter/the beginning of spring, according to Erin Harakal of Agfinity in Stony Plain, Alta.
U.S. livestock: CME hogs decline further as cattle face renewed pressure
"I think we're still trying to hunt for a bottom": analyst
Chicago Mercantile Exchange lean hog futures extended a slump, as live cattle futures came under renewed pressure with broad selling hitting agricultural markets on Wednesday.
No herd rebuild seen
Reading Time: < 1 minute Though cattle prices are at record highs and there is strong demand for beef, producers have not responded with herd expansion. Ann Boyda, Alberta livestock market analyst, says the proportion of female cattle slaughter relative to total cattle slaughter has increased, making it more difficult to rebuild the herd. Over the last decade, Western Canada […] Read more
Klassen: Year-end buying interest boosts feeder market
Feedlot operators gearing up for shortfall in overall numbers in the first half of 2024
Strength was noted in calves under 650 pounds while feeders over 700 pounds were relatively unchanged. Larger packages of weaned quality genetics were $8 to $10 higher in some cases.