French fry sales are down across North America as tens of thousands of restaurants have closed during COVID-19, meaning the potato industry has to adapt quickly. Companies that turn potatoes into french fries, wedges and hash browns are slowing down, because there isn’t enough space to store all the frozen product. In Alberta and Manitoba, […] Read more
Plummeting french fry sales have potato growers re-evaluating
Restaurant closures slash demand, though 'chip sales have been great'
Klassen: Feeder market lacks buying interest
Market gives in to pressure from Chicago futures
Compared to last week, western Canadian feeder cattle markets traded $5-$8 lower on average, with yearlings dropping as much as $10-$12 in certain areas. It appears buyers are incorporating a risk discount due to uncertainty in beef demand longer-term. Rising unemployment levels, sluggish consumer confidence and a sharp drop in disposable income are all factors […] Read more
Feed weekly outlook: Barley, wheat remain firm
Feed corn values follow U.S. ethanol lower
MarketsFarm — Prices for feed barley and wheat have firmed up across the Prairies amid the COVID-19 pandemic, said trader Allen Pirness of Market Place Commodities in Lethbridge. However, he also noted corn prices have fallen due to the steep decline in the U.S. ethanol industry. The Saudi Arabia/Russia crude oil price war put enormous […] Read more
Alberta’s provincial meat inspectors to train for federal duty
Provincial inspectors to be seconded to CFIA-inspected packers
Provincial meat inspectors in Alberta could soon be seconded to federally inspected packing plants under a new work-sharing arrangement between the province and Canadian Food Inspection Agency. The federal and Alberta governments announced Wednesday they would partner to “increase food inspector capacity” in the province and thus “ensure the continuous operation of Alberta’s food supply […] Read more
Klassen: Feeder market experiences fortuitous bounce
Last week, the feeder market started on a very sluggish tone. Buyers were sitting back waiting for the market to establish direction. By Friday, yearling prices were up $2-$4 compared to seven days earlier, while calves were trading $4 to as much as $8 above week-ago levels. Cow-calf producers and backgrounding operators have been holding […] Read more
Alberta’s Harmony Beef halts slaughter on positive COVID-19 test
CFIA pulls inspectors after plant employee tests positive
Ottawa/Winnipeg | Reuters — Harmony Beef, an Alberta packing plant, halted cattle slaughter on Friday after the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) kept some inspectors from work, due to a positive test for COVID-19 by a Harmony worker, the company said. The partial closure follows a positive COVID-19 test by a worker at U.S. chicken […] Read more
Klassen: Feeder market remains vulnerable
Compared to last week, western Canadian feeder cattle prices were quite variable. Compared to seven days earlier, Alberta feeder prices were unchanged to $5 lower; however, the markets in northern Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba were down $5 to as much as $10 in some cases. Weakness in the yearling markets spilled over into the lighter […] Read more
Prairie cash wheat: Spring wheat drops, durum steady
MGEX, CBOT, K.C. May wheats down on week
MarketsFarm — Prairie wheat bids for Canada Western Red Spring (CWRS) and Canada Prairie Spring Red (CPSR) wheat were lower for the week ended Thursday, following losses in U.S. futures. Canada Western Amber Durum (CWAD) largely held steady, buoyed by a weaker Canadian dollar, which lost about six-10ths of a cent. Average CWRS (13.5 per […] Read more
More tax deferral zones announced for ranchers
Final list released for 2019 tax year
More ranchers who were up against a dry 2019 may now be eligible to defer some income from their livestock sales for the income tax year. The federal government on Tuesday released the “final list” of designated regions where income tax deferral on sales of breeding livestock has been authorized for 2019. In a prescribed […] Read more
Average Prairie heat, more rain in summer forecast
MarketsFarm — Canada’s Prairies should see higher-than-normal precipitation and generally average temperatures during the 2020 growing season, according to a forecast from Scott Kehler of Weatherlogics. Speaking Thursday at CropConnect in Winnipeg, Kehler said “there’s not really a strong pattern one way or the other” when it comes to the temperature outlook. The Weatherlogics forecast […] Read more