Reading Time: < 1 minute Carcass weights rose after COVID-19 disrupted processing at the Cargill and JBS beef plants but are now getting back to normal, says provincial livestock market analyst Jason Wood. “During a three- week period at the beginning of May, steer carcass weights rose 28 pounds to 926 pounds, above average for that time period.” Steer carcass […] Read more
Beef carcass weights falling back in line
BHP covers added costs for potash project
Long-awaited decision by BHP board now expected mid-2021
“Challenges” in completing the shafts for its Saskatchewan potash project have led the world’s biggest mining company to top up the project budget by 10 per cent. BHP, in an operational review document released Tuesday for its quarter ending Sept. 30, said its board has approved another $272 million to complete the watertight concrete and […] Read more
Klassen: Weather, COVID, feed grains pressure feeder market
Compared to last week, western Canadian yearling prices were $2-$4 lower on average; calves traded $2 to as much as $6 below week-ago levels. Southern Alberta received its first snowfall of the season last week, which hindered demand for fresh replacements. Feedlots always incorporate a risk discount when the first snowfall of the year materializes, […] Read more
U.S. livestock: Hogs fall on profit-taking, cattle firm on bargain buying
Concerns for beef demand still drag on cattle futures
Chicago | Reuters — CME livestock futures were mixed on Tuesday, with hog contracts falling on a round of profit taking while cattle contracts firmed on bargain buying. The benchmark December lean hog contract faced pressure after hitting its highest since Sept. 13, 2019, while February live cattle, which had fallen for four days in […] Read more
Alberta Beef Industry Conference cancelled
Reading Time: < 1 minute Organizers of the Alberta Beef Industry Conference have “made the difficult decision to postpone its annual in-person event until March 2022 given the uncertainty the COVID-19 pandemic has created.” The 17-year-old event is one of the country’s largest beef conventions and trade shows. The decision to cancel it “did not come lightly” but the safety […] Read more
Will the gusher of grain movement continue?
Shipping records have shattered but the big test comes when the snow flies
Reading Time: 4 minutes The grain transportation system has been ‘pounding it,’ with monthly records falling like flies through spring, summer and even into harvest. So will it continue? That will depend on sales and demand from other sectors that ship by rail, say experts. “We’ve done very well in the aftermath of everything that’s happened in the last […] Read more
BMO regroups ag banking business
Ag-focused national banking team put in place
With COVID-19 serving to “accelerate” changes in the industry, BMO Bank of Montreal says it has reset its farm banking work under the oversight of an expanded national agriculture and agribusiness banking team. BMO announced the new team approach Oct. 14, describing it as “a national team of agriculture banking specialists — team members with […] Read more
Alberta gives oil and gas drillers municipal tax break
Reuters — Struggling oil and gas companies in Alberta will get a three-year break on municipal property taxes for land where they are drilling wells or building pipelines, the provincial government said on Monday. The Alberta government said it would also lower property tax assessments on less-productive wells and eliminate a provincial tax on drills. […] Read more
We’ll meet again — but not likely in person for a while
This year’s round of meetings will be mostly virtual but commissions hope producers stay involved
Reading Time: 3 minutes The fall meeting season hasn’t fallen by the wayside, but it will be very different. “We haven’t done any in-person events since the pandemic started, and we will not be doing any in-person events until at least February or March 2021,” said Rick Taillieu, manager of grower relations and extension for Alberta Canola. “Along the […] Read more
U.S. livestock: Lean hog futures retreat from 11-month high
Cattle futures down on beef demand uncertainty
Chicago | Reuters — U.S. lean hog futures ended lower on Friday on profit-taking and disappointment over export demand, after prices climbed to the highest level in 11 months. Strong domestic demand for pork continues to underpin hog futures, analysts said, with the most-active December contract surging 39 per cent on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange […] Read more
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