Livestock
Quebec’s cattle producer and dairy farmer groups plan to hit the road at month’s end to shop a new ownership model for Eastern Canada’s biggest cull cow slaughter plant. The Federation des producteurs de bovins du Quebec (FPBQ), Federation des producteurs de lait du Quebec (FPLQ) and Union des producteurs agricoles (UPA) plan a series […] Read more
Que. beef, dairy farmers to hustle for Colbex co-op
U.S. BSE case confirmed ‘atypical’
Reference labs in Canada and the U.K. have confirmed the latest U.S. domestic case of BSE to be the "atypical" strain that’s unlikely to have been contracted through cattle feed. The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) last month confirmed BSE in a dairy cow shipped for rendering from a […] Read more
N.S. backs former pork plant for poultry processing
A former Maple Leaf pork plant in Nova Scotia will get a seven-figure investment from the province’s government toward its full overhaul as a poultry processor. Eden Valley Poultry, co-owned by poultry packer Maple Lodge Farms and by United Poultry Producers, a group of Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island farmers, will get $1 million […] Read more
Klassen: Feeder cattle market consolidates
Feeder cattle prices in Western Canada were steady with week-ago levels. A stronger fed cattle market along and higher live cattle futures in the deferred months set a positive tone for lighter-weight feeders. Heavier replacement cattle were under pressure as current feeding margins continue to struggle in red ink. Comments from the industry were that […] Read more
N.S. to fund increased honeybee population
Nova Scotia plans to boost both its bee population and its fruit growers’ yields through a new pollination expansion program. The province on Thursday pledged $450,000 over three years for the program, which will go to help beekeepers buy more bees and upgrade equipment to "accommodate and keep (the bees) healthy." The funding will also […] Read more
Pfizer to cut jobs at Manitoba PMU plant
Drugmaker Pfizer’s restructuring of its estrogen extraction plant at Brandon, Man. calls for about 40 per cent fewer employees by the end of next year. The company processes conjugated estrogen from pregnant mares’ urine (PMU) at Brandon to make the hormone replacement therapy Premarin, used to treat menopausal symptoms in women. Pfizer said Tuesday it […] Read more
West’s hog herd expansion unlikely for now
The prospect of cheaper feed grain costs is unlikely to lead to hog herd expansion in Western Canada, as tight margins and a moratorium on new hog barns in Manitoba should limit the interest in growing the sector. Expectations for a large U.S. corn crop have led to ideas that the resulting decline in feed […] Read more
Destroyed bacon plant’s fate uncertain, staff to relocate
Quebec meat packer Olymel plans to temporarily relocate staff from a bacon plant that burned down last week to other nearby facilities while it decides on the plant’s future. The company said in a release that it presented its relocation plan, involving five other Olymel plants within a 100-km radius, to its Princeville bacon plant’s […] Read more
Drozd: Reversal patterns signal a downturn in cattle prices
Markets can and often do change direction on a moment’s notice. Cattle prices were at a record high in early March 2012, but quickly turned down and dropped below the uptrending channel, thus ending the rally. An uptrending channel develops during a period of rising prices and support is determined by a line drawn across […] Read more
Klassen: Demand for grass cattle supports feeder market
The feeder cattle market showed a mixed tone this past week. Replacement cattle over 750 pounds were $2 per hundredweight (cwt) lower to $2 higher, but lighter feeders were $2-$4/cwt higher. Feedlots realize that available feeder cattle supplies will decrease over the next couple months. However, with feeding margins deteriorating, it is difficult to increase […] Read more
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