CME May 2021 feeder cattle with 20-, 50- and 100-day moving averages. (Barchart)

Klassen: Feeder market remains volatile

Feed grain values remain firm

Last week, western Canadian yearling markets were traded $2-$4 above week-ago levels from Monday through Wednesday; however, buyers backed away from the market on Thursday and Friday as feeder cattle futures fell nearly $7 from Wednesday’s high. By the end of the week, yearlings were relatively unchanged from week-ago levels. Calf prices were relatively flat […] Read more


(Photo courtesy Canada Beef Inc.)

Feed weekly outlook: Wheat stocks should limit barley’s further upside

MarketsFarm — Feed barley bids in Western Canada remain strong, although ample wheat supplies should limit the upside heading into the new growing season. Feed barley in the Lethbridge region of southern Alberta is currently trading at around $305-$310 per tonne, according to Jim Beusekom of Market Place Commodities. Prices for delivery later in the […] Read more



Brad Welter (centre) chats with farm reporters Jack Dawes (left) and Kevin Hursh (right) during a media tour.

Finding synergy with farming, cattle and ethanol

Even with more than 50 years in the feeding business, Pound-Maker is still finding ways to dial in its various ag businesses

The majority of cattle feeding in Western Canada has been centered in Alberta. But since the early ’70s, an operation in Saskatchewan has stood out. The corporate vision statement of “Leadership in sustainable, innovative agriculture” of Pound-Maker Feedlot at Lanigan, Sask., illustrates the company’s unique approach with the synergies of Canada’s first livestock feeding operation […] Read more

File photo of a combine harvesting a wheat crop in Ukraine. (SergBob/iStock/Getty Images)

Demand from China puts Ukraine barley above top-end milling wheat

Kyiv | Reuters — Prices for Ukrainian-origin barley from this year’s harvest have exceeded those of high quality milling wheat due to strong demand from China, analysts at APK-Inform said on Friday. Forward contract prices for 2021 harvest barley stood at $220-$230 a tonne c.p.t. (carriage paid to) Black Sea June-July delivery, while high-quality milling […] Read more





WGEA executive director Wade Sobkowich. (Manitoba Co-operator photo by Allan Dawson)

Railways to blame for terminal shortages, WGEA says

Grain handlers take issue with MarketsFarm report

MarketsFarm — The association representing the Prairies’ main grain handling companies says recent delays in loading vessels have less to do with the availability of grain and more to do with the railways hauling it to port. The Western Grain Elevator Association (WGEA), which represents major handlers such as Viterra, Richardson, Cargill and others, raised […] Read more

Cattle in the field on a January day.

Milk fever in beef cows

Veterinary Case Study with Dr. Ron Clarke

Matt called early on January 1, 1975, worried about a downer cow on a field of swathed barley damaged by hail in July of the previous summer. Matt let the crop volunteer through the growing season with plans to swath it near the end of harvest as winter graze for his herd of 200 Hereford-cross […] Read more