Chicago | Reuters — Chicago Mercantile Exchange lean hog futures closed lower on Wednesday, retreating from six-week highs set a day earlier as wholesale pork prices backed down after spiking higher early in the week. Live cattle futures closed mixed, underpinned by surging beef prices. At the CME, April hogs settled down 2.55 cents at […] Read more
U.S. livestock: CME hog futures sag as pork prices retreat
February live cattle up, April down
Brazil to halt beef exports to China after BSE case
Indications point to 'atypical' case
Sao Paulo | Reuters — Brazil’s beef exports to China will be halted starting Thursday after a case of bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) was confirmed in the northern state of Para, the country’s agriculture and livestock ministry said on Wednesday. The suspension is part of an animal health pact previously agreed between China and Brazil […] Read more
Heifer exodus a year ago means smaller calf crop coming
The number of heifers being sold jumped substantially in the first half of 2022
Reading Time: < 1 minute More heifers went to market last year. “Alberta beef producers retained fewer breeding heifers for replacement in 2022, suggesting expansion is not in the immediate future,” said provincial livestock economist Ann Boyda. “The Canfax Cattle on Feed reports show a 9.4 per cent increase in heifer placement in feedlots in 2022 compared to 2021. Heifer […] Read more
U.S. livestock: Cattle, hog futures climb
Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) cattle and hog futures came out of their U.S. Presidents Day break trading higher, with front-month live cattle posting eight-year highs. CME February 2023 live cattle touched 164.975 cents/lb. in Tuesday’s trade before closing at 164.75 cents, up 1.175 cents from Friday’s close and the highest close for the front-month contract […] Read more
New training for feedlot workers
Reading Time: < 1 minute The Alberta Cattle Feeders’ Association has created a series of training videos for feedlot employees. The short videos, made by feedlot veterinarian Dr. Joyce Van Donkersgoed, are meant to supplement training provided by herd health veterinarians and nutritionists. “Without well-trained and competent feedlot processors and pen riders, it is hard to effectively manage animal health […] Read more
Are feed-efficient cattle the best bet for climate change?
Researcher aims to find out if those cows are better able to deal with sweltering heat and bitter cold
Reading Time: 3 minutes Your most feed-efficient cattle also may be the best when Mother Nature turns the thermostat way up or way down. And that’s increasingly important, says a leading beef researcher. “Significant extremes have become more noticeable,” said Gleise Silva, an expert in cattle nutrition and an assistant professor at the University of Alberta. “What I would […] Read more
Boldly going: Potato growers head into unexplored territory
It’s nerve-wracking to be a trailblazer, but Groot family committed to trying something very different on their farm
Reading Time: 5 minutes These days farmers are encouraged to be experimental, and to conduct trials on their own land to see what works best for them. What agronomists may not say is just how nerve-wracking it can be. And that goes double when doing something that has rarely, if ever, been done before. In the case of Gibbons-area […] Read more
U.S. livestock: CME live cattle post near-eight-year highs
Firming cash prices support February, April live cattle; hogs lower
Chicago | Reuters — Benchmark live cattle futures on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange set life-of-contract highs on Friday and the front contract hit its highest since 2015 as shrinking cattle supplies lifted cash prices, traders said. Market-ready cattle traded in southern Plains cash markets at $160-$162 per hundredweight (cwt), traders said, steady to $2 higher […] Read more
U.S. livestock: Hogs, most live cattle lower
Feeder cattle futures also down
Chicago lean hog and cattle futures closed mainly lower Thursday with the exception of front-month February live cattle, which remained on its record-setting upward slope. CME February live cattle finished up 0.225 cent at 162.775 cents/lb., extending the nearly-eight-year high on a continuous chart of the front contract (all figures US$). Most actively-traded April live […] Read more
U.S. livestock: CME spot live cattle futures near eight-year top
Deferred-month cattle, lean hogs lower
Chicago | Reuters — Front-month live cattle futures on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange reached a near eight-year high on Wednesday, supported by tightening U.S. cattle supplies and rising wholesale beef prices, while the most actively traded contracts drifted lower as market players awaited more direction from cash cattle markets. CME’s spot February live cattle futures […] Read more
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