File photo of the flags of Canada and its provinces and territories at Canada Place in Vancouver. (lilly3/iStock/Getty Images)

Request line open for AgriRecovery drought plans, Bibeau says

Formal ask needed to trigger process: ag minister

Canada’s federal agriculture minister says the government is “ready to receive formal submissions” from provinces for AgriRecovery plans to help Prairie farmers and ranchers up against significant droughts this summer. Marie-Claude Bibeau, summarizing discussions from Thursday’s online meeting with provincial and territorial (FPT) agriculture ministers, said the formal requests “are needed to trigger the process,” […] Read more

CME August 2021 live cattle (candlesticks) with Bollinger bands (20,2) and October 2021 live cattle (dark red line). (Barchart)

U.S. livestock: CME live cattle drift lower

Lean hog futures end mixed

Chicago | Reuters — Chicago Mercantile Exchange live cattle futures drifted lower on Thursday in lacklustre trade, with disappointing weekly export sales data and softening wholesale beef cutout prices adding pressure, analysts said. “The fact that the cutout on beef has been drifting lower just doesn’t give the market a lot of confidence that packers […] Read more


CME August 2021 feeder cattle (candlesticks) with 20-, 50- and 100-day moving averages (pink, dark red and black lines). (Barchart)

U.S. livestock: CME feeder cattle fall on corn rally

CME lean hogs end lower

Chicago | Reuters — Chicago Mercantile Exchange live cattle futures closed lower Wednesday, led by weakness in feeder cattle futures and profit-taking after a near two-week high, traders said. CME feeder futures set the tone, falling one per cent as corn futures jumped on worries about dry U.S. weather, a move that signaled higher costs […] Read more

CME August 2021 live cattle with 20-, 50- and 100-day moving averages (pink, brown and dark red lines). (Barchart)

U.S. livestock: Live cattle firm on cash market optimism

CME lean hogs also advance

Chicago | Reuters — Chicago Mercantile Exchange live cattle futures closed higher on Tuesday for a second session, supported by expectations for a slowdown in supplies of market-ready cattle that should lift cash prices, analysts said. “The (cattle) numbers start to tighten as we move forward and get closer to August. That is giving some […] Read more


CME August 2021 lean hogs (candlesticks) with 20-, 50- and 100-day moving averages (pink, brown and dark red lines). (Barchart)

U.S. livestock: Hog futures rise as pork production estimates cut

Feeder cattle down on rising grain values

Chicago | Reuters — Chicago Mercantile Exchange lean hog futures jumped on Monday as the U.S. Department of Agriculture reduced its domestic pork production estimates for this year and next year. The USDA cut its production estimates because of reduced expectations for commercial hog slaughtering in the second half of the year, according to a […] Read more

CME August 2021 live cattle (candlesticks) with Bollinger bands (20,2). (Barchart)

U.S. livestock: CME live cattle ease as cash market diverges

Chicago | Reuters — Chicago Mercantile Exchange live cattle futures eased for a third session on Friday as futures markets tried to read conflicting cash markets, traders said. “We have the (U.S.) south backed up on cattle, trying to get cattle moved through,” said Scott Varilek, broker at Kooima Kooima Varilek Trading Inc. “There’s tighter […] Read more


What does the future of beef look like?

What does the future of beef look like?

Reading Time: < 1 minute This year’s edition of the Young Guns Contest is now accepting entries. The annual competition put on by Alberta Beef Producers is open to those aged eight to 21 and involved in Beef 4-H, junior cattle shows or beef production. “We want you to grab a crystal ball and take a look at what the […] Read more

CME August 2021 live cattle (candlesticks) with 100-day moving average (red line) and August 2021 lean hogs (pink open/high/low/close). (Barchart)

U.S. livestock: CME live cattle ease as beef demand cools

CME lean hog futures mostly firm

Chicago | Reuters — Chicago Mercantile Exchange live cattle futures dropped for a second day, following U.S. boxed beef prices lower as seasonal demand cools. “You’re still seeing boxed beef pull back, which is normal, seasonally,” said Matthew Wiegand, Risk Management Consultant at FuturesOne. “We’re past the Fourth of July — we don’t have a […] Read more


Drawing on big databases and using AI to ‘scrape’ the internet produces info that ranchers can use to make better decisions faster, says David Wishart, an expert in both computing and biological sciences. The U of A professor is helping to develop an app that will put that treasure trove of info on a producer’s computer or smartphone in an easy-to-use form.

Would you like a supercomputer with your cattle herd?

Big Data: Armchair Rancher will harness the power of big data and AI, and give Alberta producers ‘a leg up’

Reading Time: 3 minutes The ‘ancestry.com’ of the cattle industry is in development — and the app could give Alberta ranchers a leg up on the rest of the industry. Livestock Gentec, in collaboration with Alberta Innovates and the University of Alberta’s David Wishart, is creating an app that will help ranchers make better and faster decisions on the […] Read more

CME August 2021 live cattle (candlesticks) with 20-, 50- and 100-day moving averages (pink, brown and dark red lines). (Barchart)

U.S. livestock: Live cattle futures, boxed beef prices drop

Average hog weights down on week

Chicago | Reuters — Chicago Mercantile Exchange live cattle futures approached a four-week low on Wednesday as U.S. beef prices declined. The drop in futures extended a four per cent setback from a contract high that most-active August live cattle reached last month. Prices for beef shipped to wholesale buyers in large boxes have also […] Read more