Livestock
Western Canadian feeder cattle prices were steady to $2 higher on average last week. Alberta fed cattle prices reached $110 per hundredweight, up $3 from a week ago, and this strength spilled over into the feeder complex. A group of 100 Charolais-cross steers averaging 875 pounds, looking green and a bit fleshy, sold for $139/cwt […] Read more
Klassen: Feeder cattle prices edge higher
Ag minister re-elected in Saskatchewan Party sweep
Saskatchewan’s current minister of agriculture is headed back to the provincial legislature after voters handed the governing Saskatchewan Party a landslide win Monday night. Bob Bjornerud, a southeastern MLA for 16 years and a Saltcoats-area farmer, handily won his riding of Melville-Saltcoats on Monday by a spread of over 3,300 votes against Melville-area cow-calf producer […] Read more
Veterinary distributor buys Canada-wide reach
A major Canadian veterinary supply house plans to become the largest in the country by buying another distributor with reach through Quebec and the Atlantic provinces. CDMV, based at St-Hyacinthe, Que. with warehouse operations in Calgary and Halifax, announced last week it will buy Quebec City-based Distribution Vie et Sante for an undisclosed sum. CDMV […] Read more
Alta. feed market seen steady heading into winter
Feed grain prices in the key southern Alberta cattle feeding region have climbed over the past month, but have now reached their equilibrium and look relatively steady heading into the winter months, according to a Lethbridge feed merchant. Feed barley prices at Lethbridge have rallied over the past month from around $190 per tonne up […] Read more
Agency backed to develop kosher HACCP system
One of Canada’s top certification bodies for kosher food products will get federal backing to draft new HACCP-based food safety standards for kosher goods. The federal government on Friday pledged up to $763,650 from the Canadian Integrated Food Safety Initiative (CIFSI) for the Jewish Community Council of Montreal to move into the second phase of […] Read more
Drozd: Topping action in soybean meal alerts livestock producers not to panic
Livestock producers were left scratching their heads when the December 2011 soybean meal futures contract posted a new high in late August. The news was incredibly bullish, as concerns of an early frost were on producers’ minds. The big question was, "Should I be locking in the price of meal before it gets any higher?" […] Read more
Russia Reports Swine Fever
Reading Time: < 1 minute Russia s animal and plant health watchdog Rosselkhoznadzor said last Monday it had registered three new outbreaks of African swine fever. In all three cases the outbreaks of the disease, lethal to pigs, but harmless to humans, took place at small backyard farms, the watchdog said. It said medium and large Russian pig breeding farms […] Read more
Canada Takes A Wait-And-See Approach To New Cage Regulations
Reading Time: 3 minutes Few animal welfare issues have permeated the public consciousness as the plight of the egg-laying hen, but Canada is taking a wait-and-see approach to new cage regulations. Europe has already adopted new cage regulations and the U.S. is poised to move forward with even larger cages for hens. However, Canada continues to use cages nearly […] Read more
Domestic Beef Industry Report Card
Reading Time: 3 minutes In the past few weeks, I have been asked to give several presentations on the state of the beef industry a report card, so to speak, on how we are doing within both the global arena and the domestic market. What I have to say may surprise you. The beef industry in Canada is not […] Read more
Better Times Ahead For Hog Producers?
Reading Time: 3 minutes So far this year, Canadian producers have had their best period of profitability in the last five years, a relief for those who survived a four-year period of unprecedented hardship, with low hog prices and high feed costs. With market hogs fetching up to $200 a head and sometimes more during the summer, the only […] Read more
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