Chicago | Reuters — U.S. live cattle futures closed steady to firm on Friday, stabilizing after a two-session rally attributed to speculative buying and signs that meat packers may have worked through much of a backlog of market-ready cattle, traders said. Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) August live cattle futures settled unchanged at 103.275 cents/lb. and […] Read more
U.S. livestock: Live cattle end steady to firmer
Lean hogs dip after weekly advances
Non-essential travel limits extended at U.S. borders with Canada, Mexico
Washington/Ottawa | Reuters — Restrictions on non-essential travel at U.S. land borders with Canada and Mexico will be extended through Aug. 21, Canada and the United States announced Thursday. “Canada and the United States have agreed to extend the current border measures by one month until Aug. 21, and we’re going to keep working closely […] Read more
Agriculture can lead Alberta out of pandemic woes, say leaders
Blue ribbon panel offers six-point action plan to make sector a driver of provincial growth
Reading Time: 3 minutes Agriculture could be a driver of growth in Alberta and offers “mountains of opportunities for growth, investment and jobs,” says a report from a high-profile panel of ag sector players. The panel was one part of a wider group of experts and business leaders asked by Premier Jason Kenney to make recommendations on how to […] Read more
Open Farm Days ready to rise to the challenge
Things will be much different this year but organizers are confident the event will be successful
Reading Time: 3 minutes As they say, ‘The show must go on.’ And that’s how the organizers of Alberta Open Farm Days feel. “As we got into Stage 2 (of pandemic reopening), we looked at the regulations to see whether it could go ahead. This wasn’t something we took lightly,” said Nicola Doherty, marketing co-ordinator with Alberta Open Farm […] Read more
Ontario to insure for crop loss due to lack of labour
AgriInsurance offering hailed as a first in Canada
Ontario’s federal/provincial AgriInsurance program has been temporarily expanded to include coronavirus-related labour shortages as a covered cause for crop loss. Producers already enrolled in an eligible production insurance plan and hit by crop losses due to labour disruptions during the 2020 growing season will be able to get further insurance coverage, the Ontario and federal […] Read more
Campaign seeks public support for farmers
Reading Time: < 1 minute The Canadian Cattlemen’s Association, the Canadian Federation of Agriculture and other groups have launched a new advocacy campaign aimed at raising public awareness of the support farmers require because of the pandemic. Called “Food for Thought,” the campaign focuses on the rising cost of food, the number of jobs that agriculture employs and how the […] Read more
China’s slower meat imports seen worsening its protein shortage
Beijing | Reuters — China’s dwindling pace of meat imports, thanks to its tough measures against coronavirus contamination, will provide further support for prices already buoyed by a severe shortage of pork, analysts said. Purchases of pork and other meats have soared this year after domestic production shrank 30 per cent following an outbreak of […] Read more
U.S. livestock: Cattle futures, boxed beef prices weaken
October lean hogs up slightly
Chicago | Reuters — U.S. live and feeder cattle futures weakened with boxed beef prices on Wednesday as large supplies of heavy livestock are ready for slaughter, commodity brokers said. Cattle heading to slaughter weigh more, analysts said, because they put on pounds as animals backed up in feedlots when meat plants closed in April […] Read more
Organic sector sees strong demand even as pandemic batters consumers
COVID has challenged province’s organic growers but their customers have remained loyal
Reading Time: 4 minutes Demand for organic food hasn’t been slowed by the pandemic even though many consumers have struggled with job losses and reduced income. “The thing that’s been most surprising is seeing that the demand for organic continues, despite the income level people are at,” said Tia Loftsgard, executive director of the Canada Organic Trade Association. “Organic […] Read more
Pulse weekly outlook: Lentil prices off pandemic peak
MarketsFarm — Lentil prices received a bit of a bump earlier in the year from peak pandemic panic-buying, but have subsided in recent weeks. “At the beginning, a lot of people were buying, which led to a spike in prices,” explained Marcos Mosnaim of Globeways Canada in Mississauga. “That scarcity has come down a lot.” […] Read more
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