Livestock
U.S. hog producers are not expanding herds as worries about high feed costs have them managing what they have, analysts said Friday after a government report showed only a slight increase in hogs. The U.S. Agriculture Department showed the hog herd as of March 1 at 63.964 million head, up 0.7 per cent from a […] Read more
U.S. hog herd up slightly, no expansion yet
U.S. cattle, hogs recover Friday from quake-related selloff
U.S. cattle and hog futures closed sharply higher Friday and for the week with the April cattle the highest ever for a lead contract on widespread fund buying and short covering. Both markets have fully recovered the losses incurred shortly after Japan’s March 11 earthquake. In the days after that disaster, cattle futures lost about […] Read more
Egg Farmers acclaim N.S. producer as chief
Annapolis Valley egg producer Peter Clarke has been acclaimed as the new chair of the Egg Farmers of Canada. Clarke, who farms at Woodville in western Nova Scotia, was named Wednesday to replace Laurent Souligny, who stepped down from the post at the organization’s annual meeting in Ottawa. B.C. egg producer Fred Krahn was elected […] Read more
CFIA retools compensation for destroyed livestock
Canada’s egg and poultry producers are hailing Ottawa’s move to rework the compensation payable to producers whose livestock are ordered destroyed for disease control. Groups including the Chicken Farmers of Canada, Egg Farmers of Canada (EFC), Turkey Farmers of Canada (TFC) and Canadian Hatching Egg Producers said they were informed Wednesday of the revised payment […] Read more
Man. hog farmers pledge sow stall phase-out
Major and possibly expensive changes lie ahead for Manitoba’s 700 hog producers as the result of a new roadmap for the industry’s future. The Manitoba Pork Council’s plan released last week commits hog farmers to eliminate sow gestation stalls within the next 15 years. “Manitoba Pork commits to encouraging producers to phase out by 2025 […] Read more
Canada’s second vCJD case likely not caught here
The person believed to be Canada’s second-ever case of the type of Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease transmitted by BSE-infected beef is seen as unlikely to have picked it up in this country. In a recent report, the Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC) said the evidence in the latest probable case of variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (vCJD) “strongly […] Read more
Canada, Korea near deal on beef: report
With a World Trade Organization ruling pending, Canada and South Korea may have an agreement in place by next month at the latest to reopen Korean ports to Canadian beef, Korean news agency Yonhap reports. Citing a “government source” who didn’t want to be named, the news agency said Monday that Seoul and Ottawa have […] Read more
Beef deal with EU calls for Canada to drop sanctions
A tentative agreement with the European Union would see European nations expand market access for Canadian beef, while Canada would drop all related trade sanctions in exchange. The European Commission, the oversight body for EU legislation, said in a release Thursday that the EU and Canada have signed a memorandum of understanding in a years-long […] Read more
Klassen: Feeder cattle hold value
Western Canadian feeder cattle markets were $1 to $2 higher despite the weaker tone in other commodity markets. Fed cattle were steady to $1 lower causing feedlot buying interest to remain strong throughout the week. Healthy feeding margins along with weakness in the corn market appeared to override the Japanese demand uncertainty. In central Alberta, […] Read more
U of S to build new dairy research barn
Faced with a barn pushing 40 and in need of “urgent replacement,” the University of Saskatchewan has picked up public funding to build a new dairy research and teaching facility. The federal and provincial governments last week announced funding of $3 million and $1 million respectively for the new barn, to be built on the […] Read more
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