Reading Time: 3 minutes Prepare for more dry times, grab hold of federal climate cash and keep watch for meaningful government action on the processing side. Those are three key recommendations from a prominent educator, a producer and a farm leader on positioning the ranch for 2023. Rainfall patterns have been different in the last three to five years […] Read more
Take the long view by preparing for next year right now
There are several things to be thinking about now, including federal cash that’s up for grabs
Schoepp: What produces more waste — a feedlot or a cruise ship?
Feedlot waste gets a lot of scrutiny by consumers while shipping gets a free pass
Reading Time: 3 minutes During a recent agricultural discussion, the chat centred around the public’s perception of animal agriculture and waste. As I had recently been at sea, our conversation shifted to the ocean being used as a dumping ground for human sewage and other waste. I became curious. What produces more waste — a feedlot or a ship, […] Read more
U.S. livestock: Hog futures firm on technical buying
Cattle futures close mostly lower
Chicago | Reuters — Chicago Mercantile Exchange lean hog futures firmed for the second day in a row on Thursday, with technical buying supporting prices following the market’s bounce from a 10-month low on Wednesday, traders said. CME December lean hog futures settled up 1.275 cents at 77.775 cents/lb. (all figures US$). Front-month October hogs […] Read more
Bovine Gastronomy: It turns out that garlic pairs well with minerals
Alberta researcher finds cattle will consume more mineral if it’s flavoured with fresh garlic
Reading Time: 3 minutes Just like many people do, cattle enjoy the taste of garlic, and as with humans, many swear the ‘stinking rose’ offers numerous health benefits for bovines. Garlic is rumoured to entice cattle to consume more minerals, have anti-fungal properties and even discourage horn flies from pestering them. “You would find these anecdotes on blogs,” said […] Read more
U.S. livestock: CME hogs up off 10-month low on bargain-buying
Live cattle also up on technical buying
Chicago | Reuters — Chicago Mercantile Exchange lean hog futures closed higher on Wednesday on bargain buying, a day after the benchmark December contract fell to a 10-month low, traders said. CME December lean hog futures settled up 2.075 cents at 76.5 cents/lb. (all figures US$). Front-month October hogs ended up 3.8 cents, at 90.8 […] Read more
Klassen: Demand fears cause feeder cattle market volatility
Barley values continue upward
Compared to last week, western Canadian yearling markets traded $4 higher to as much as $6 lower. Strength was noted in the eastern Prairie regions while the market was softer in Alberta. Western Canadian calves were extremely volatile, trading $5 higher to as much as $10 lower in some cases. It’s not uncommon for markets […] Read more
U.S. livestock: CME lean hogs, live cattle retreat on technical selling
Funds net long in hogs, cattle
Chicago | Reuters — Chicago Mercantile Exchange benchmark December lean hog futures fell about four per cent on Tuesday, hitting a 10-month low on technical selling and worries about consumer demand for meat, traders said. Brokers shrugged off strength in outside markets including crude oil and Wall Street equity markets, which firmed as fears eased […] Read more
Lending terms for ranchers
Reading Time: < 1 minute Agriculture Financial Services Corporation says it has made “some interim changes to our loan processes” to assist producers who need funds to buy feed, gain access to water or buy breeding females. “These changes include quick processing of loans up to $200,000, interest-only payments for up to 24 months, up to 60-month loan amortization and […] Read more
U.S. livestock: CME cattle, hogs up on technical buying, short-covering
Recession worries still loom large
Chicago | Reuters — Chicago Mercantile Exchange live cattle, feeder cattle and lean hog futures strengthened on Monday on technical buying and short covering, after recent selloffs were overdone, brokers said. Concerns about the risks for a global recession, which could reduce demand for beef, continued to hang over livestock markets, brokers said. Wall Street […] Read more
Foot-and-mouth a ticking time bomb: Is Canada prepared?
Livestock groups want millions of vaccine doses to be stockpiled but say Ottawa is ‘stalling’
Reading Time: 5 minutes Ottawa must stop ignoring requests to create a vaccine bank that could save the country’s livestock sector from a devastating a foot-and-mouth disease outbreak, say provincial livestock leaders. The groups have been asking for a vaccine bank for years and in a recent letter, the chairs of Alberta’s cattle, cattle feeders, pork, sheep and goat […] Read more
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