Livestock
The number of cattle placed in U.S. feedlots rose in November, according to the U.S. Agriculture Department, surprising analysts, who attributed the increase to record-high cattle prices and a seven per cent pull back in corn prices last month. USDA’s monthly cattle on feed report on Friday showed placements up four per cent in November […] Read more
Cattle placement in U.S. feedlots takes surprise jump
Klassen: Feeder prices stay firm late in the year
Western Canadian feeder cattle prices were steady with week-ago levels as mild temperatures and limited precipitation provided optimal conditions for feedlot placements. Despite the softer tone for fed cattle, buying interest came forward from larger feedlot operators and the smaller farmer feedlot backgrounder. Run-of-the-mill black Angus-cross age-verified steer calves weighing 520 pounds sold for $164 […] Read more
Feds back Quebec R+D for SRM removal equipment
A southern Quebec manufacturer of slaughter, cutting and deboning equipment has picked up over $400,000 in federal funds to develop new ways of removing specified risk materials (SRMs) from carcasses at abattoirs. Industries Riopel, based at Vallee-Jonction, about 65 km southeast of Quebec City in the Chaudiere-Appalaches district, will get over $404,000 from the federal […] Read more
U.S. senators call for appeal of WTO’s COOL ruling
Nineteen U.S. senators are calling for an appeal to be filed on a World Trade Organization panel ruling in Canada’s favour against a U.S. country-of-origin labelling (COOL) law on meats and other foods. "We request that your agencies take appropriate actions to appeal the (WTO Dispute Settlement Body panel’s) ruling and to work to ensure […] Read more
Feds back Quebec R+D for SRM removal equipment
A southern Quebec manufacturer of slaughter, cutting and deboning equipment has picked up over $400,000 in federal funds to develop new ways of removing specified risk materials (SRMs) from carcasses at abattoirs. Industries Riopel, based at Vallee-Jonction, about 65 km southeast of Quebec City in the Chaudiere-Appalaches district, will get over $404,000 from the federal […] Read more
Winnipeg beef packing project to press ahead
A new Winnipeg slaughter plant will go ahead despite the loss of $10 million in federal funding and an effort by Manitoba Beef Producers to end the voluntary $2 checkoff funding the project, according to its chief executive. "We are ready for shovels in the ground when we finish our financing, and when Mother Nature […] Read more
Manitoba Tories name new ag critic
A cattle feeder turned MLA from Manitoba’s Red River Valley will be the province’s new opposition critic for agriculture, food and rural initiatives. Tory leader Hugh McFadyen on Wednesday named Blaine Pedersen, the MLA for what’s now the Midland constituency, as ag critic, replacing Emerson MLA Cliff Graydon. Pedersen, who hails from Elm Creek, spent […] Read more
Que. shifts ASRA coverage on feeder calves, lambs
Coverage under Quebec’s ag income stabilization program (ASRA) for feeder calves and lambs will be weighted more toward market weights in 2012. La Financiere agricole du Quebec (FADQ), the province’s farm finance agency, on Tuesday announced coverage for both feeders and lambs will be distributed based 25 per cent on the value of the calf […] Read more
Payouts still on hold from Maple Leaf listeria suits
Maple Leaf Foods calls itself "dismayed and frustrated" to find $25 million it paid to settle claims from a notorious 2008 listeriosis outbreak has yet to be distributed. The Toronto food processing giant’s CEO Michael McCain said as much in the wake of media reports last week profiling people who were sickened by listeria related […] Read more
Poultry packer announces more layoffs in N.B.
Blaming a breakdown in its supply chain, a major poultry packer in northern New Brunswick says it plans to lay off about a quarter of its 250 remaining employees. Nadeau Poultry, which operates the province’s only federally-inspected chicken processing plant, announced the layoffs at the St. Francois-de-Madawaska facility in a release Monday, citing "the New […] Read more
Cyber-Savvy Farmer
