Reading Time: 5 minutes The Eastern Slopes are what many people picture when they think of Alberta — a sweeping landscape of grass and rolling hills giving way to forests and ridges framed by the majesty of the Rocky Mountains. But all that beauty masks serious issues, including the considerable strain on riparian areas. Key to the effort to […] Read more
Foothills ranchers share rules for water resiliency
Keep it simple: Riparian areas play an outsized role in vital watersheds, and caring for them isn’t complicated
U.S. livestock: Live cattle firm on strong cash trade
Cattle inventory report due out Tuesday; CME hogs end mixed
Chicago | Reuters — U.S. live cattle futures firmed on Monday, supported by strengthening cash trade and in anticipation of the U.S. Agriculture Department’s biannual cattle inventory report, due out on Tuesday. “Historically, the cattle inventory report wouldn’t be that big of a market mover. But it is a good check in on where you’re […] Read more
CCA looks back on 90 years
Reading Time: < 1 minute The Canadian Cattle Association is celebrating its 90th anniversary with a series of videos. The initial video looks at how marketing at a new level has paid off. “We’ve become the second-largest high-quality, grain-fed beef producer in the world,” CCA executive vice-president Dennis Laycraft says in the video. “We went from producing bone-in product … […] Read more
U.S. livestock: Hog futures drop on plentiful supplies
Live cattle steady to weak
Chicago | Reuters — U.S. hog futures eased on Friday, with ample supplies weighing on prices due to a heavy pace of slaughter this year. Live cattle futures were steady to weak in rangebound trade, with light activity in the cash market hanging over prices. February lean hog futures dropped 1.15 cents, to 75.875 cents/lb., […] Read more
U.S. livestock: Hog futures up off lowest since December 2021
Cattle futures down with cash markets
Chicago | Reuters — U.S. hog futures rose on Thursday as strength in cash markets and rising export demand sparked a round of bargain buying after prices hit their lowest in more than a year. But weakness in the cash markets weighed on cattle futures. The U.S. Agriculture Department said on Thursday morning that export […] Read more
Saskatchewan holds Crown grazing rents at last year’s levels
Also, leaseholders on drought-downgraded land eligible for rate cut
Cattle producers leasing Crown land for grazing in Saskatchewan won’t see a rate hike this year and may be eligible for a significant rate cut. The provincial government announced Wednesday it has frozen the rates charged to producers who lease Crown grazing land in 2023 at their 2022 level. The freeze will apply to all […] Read more
U.S. livestock: Hog futures hit lowest since late 2021
Ballooning supplies an issue; cattle futures mixed
Chicago | Reuters — Chicago Mercantile Exchange hog futures fell to their lowest in more than a year on Wednesday, with plentiful supplies and weak export demand weighing on prices, traders said. Cattle futures were mixed, with nearby contracts easing while deferred contracts firmed on concerns about low animal weight. February lean hog futures ended […] Read more
U.S. livestock: CME cattle futures firm even as feed prices weigh
Lean hogs end lower, pork packing margins up
Chicago | Reuters — Chicago Mercantile Exchange livestock futures were mixed on Tuesday as soybean and grain prices firmed, traders said. Live cattle and feeder futures were able to continue Monday’s price bump. But the higher feed prices weighed on the beef market, as did questions over consumer and export demand, StoneX chief commodities economist […] Read more
Backlog of fed cattle should soon be cleared, says analyst
There are still challenges, but the coming year is shaping up well so far
Reading Time: 2 minutes A backlog of fed cattle that has adversely affected feedlots should start to clear soon, says a livestock economist with Alberta’s agriculture department. Feedlots in Alberta and Saskatchewan had plenty of fed cattle supply at the end of 2022 and fed cattle basis levels were wide, said Ann Boyda. “Any further backlog is expected to […] Read more
U.S. livestock: CME cattle firm on bargain buying, grain values
Chicago lean hogs end day lower
Chicago | Reuters — Chicago Mercantile Exchange cattle futures firmed on Monday amid a spate of bargain buying after a recent slump in prices helped mute market impact of the bearish results of the latest Cattle on Feed report from the U.S. Agriculture Department, traders said. Cattle futures also were boosted by a sharp drop […] Read more
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