The federal government’s 2021 budget offers up new spending to support farmers combatting climate change through targeted investments — and, in some cases, direct payments. Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland released the budget Monday, showing the majority of new spending will take place over three years and be largely focused on “green growth.” “Budget 2021 announces […] Read more
Federal budget to offer direct payments to farmers for carbon pricing
Other new 'green growth' funding also on deck
U.S. livestock: Cattle, hogs down on demand concerns
'We got a little bit ahead of ourselves'
Chicago | Reuters — CME Group hog futures fell sharply for the second day in a row on Friday, with the most-active June contract sinking 2.9 per cent to its lowest since March 23. Cattle futures also were weaker, with the June live cattle contract notching its seventh straight losing session. The market was correcting […] Read more
Set-aside funded for Quebec hog, cattle, big game producers
Feds, province pledge $21.8 million AgriRecovery plan
Farmers tending feeder hogs, fed cattle and big game animals such as elk, red deer, bison and wild boar in Quebec can expect $21.8 million in AgriRecovery to compensate for COVID-19’s drag on the province’s slaughter capacity. Federal Agriculture Minister Marie-Claude Bibeau and her Quebec counterpart Andre Lamontagne on Thursday announced their governments’ respective 60-40 […] Read more
Cargill shuts Ontario chicken plant against COVID
Other packers being sought to take birds
Agrifood firm Cargill is seeking slaughter space for Ontario chickens at other processors after temporarily closing its London poultry packing plant Tuesday against an outbreak of COVID-19 among workers. The company said Tuesday it was “taking this step out of an abundance of caution as our local workforce deals with the community-wide impacts of COVID-19.” […] Read more
U.S. livestock: Live cattle, lean hogs set new contract highs
June hogs turn lower before close
Chicago | Reuters — Strong meat demand pushed U.S. live cattle and lean hog futures to new contract highs on Monday. The cattle market benefited from increasing demand for beef as the U.S. is entering the summer grilling season, analysts said. Prices for choice cuts of boxed beef soared by $5.82, to $258.67/cwt, while select […] Read more
U.S. pork processors face higher costs, slower speeds after court ruling
Chicago | Reuters — An industry group representing America’s biggest meatpackers on Thursday pushed the U.S. Department of Agriculture to appeal a federal court decision that canceled an agency rule that allows pork plants to slaughter pigs more quickly. The decision issued Wednesday in U.S. District Court in Minnesota could raise costs for meatpackers like […] Read more
JBS profit bolstered by weak currency, strong Chinese and U.S. markets
China became third largest beef export market for JBS Canada, company says
Sao Paulo | Reuters — Meat processor JBS SA’s fourth-quarter profit rose 65 per cent from a year earlier, boosted by strong food sales in China and the U.S. and a sharp devaluation of Brazil’s real currency, the company said in a securities filing on Wednesday. For full-year 2020 its profit was 4.6 billion reais, […] Read more
Hog market recovering from pandemic lows
China again a major driver of hog values
MarketsFarm — In April 2020, during the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic, prices for lean hog futures dropped to their lowest point since 2002, falling below US$40 per hundredweight. Nearly a year later, the industry is in the middle of a speedy recovery. At the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) on Thursday, lean hog futures […] Read more
USDA plans more pandemic programs for disadvantaged farmers
Review found disparities in farm aid distribution
Chicago | Reuters — The U.S. Department of Agriculture said on Wednesday it will dedicate at least US$6 billion to help smaller-scale and socially disadvantaged farmers who were hurt by the pandemic, along with producers of organic food and other specialty crops. The agency said it would also increase by approximately $5.6 billion payments made […] Read more
Cut costs and carry on: Ag societies caught in a web of uncertainty due to COVID
Most revenues come from events that aren’t taking place while the bills keep rolling in
Reading Time: 4 minutes When COVID-19 hit, Strathmore and District Ag Society went into total shutdown. “We were just kind of reeling at first. We laid off all the staff, cancelled events, cancelled Strathmore Stampede, cancelled cowboy concerts,” said Ryan Schmidt, the society’s general manager and CEO. “Everything looked kind of black and dark. You can’t see where to […] Read more
Cyber-Savvy Farmer
