File photo of Korean braised short ribs. (Sungsu Han/iStock/Getty Images)

Korea suspends Canadian beef imports after BSE case

No other countries yet considering suspensions, CFIA says

Winnipeg | Reuters — South Korea has suspended beef imports from Canada, which last week reported its first case of bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) in six years, the Canadian Food Inspection Agency said Wednesday. South Korea, the fourth-largest beef importer in the world, is seeking more information about the case before lifting its suspension, the […] Read more

CME April 2022 lean hogs (candlesticks) with 20-, 50- and 100-day moving averages (pink, brown and black lines). (Barchart)

U.S. livestock: CME hogs near one-month high on smaller herd estimates

Live cattle, feeder cattle also up

Chicago | Reuters — Chicago Mercantile Exchange hog futures rallied on Tuesday amid expectations the U.S. Department of Agriculture will confirm a smaller pig herd in a report due out on Thursday, analysts said. USDA, in its quarterly Hogs and Pigs report, is expected to show the herd was about 2.9 per cent smaller on […] Read more


The veterinary term for feedlot dust pneumonia is acute interstitial pneumonia.

Dust a risk factor in calf pneumonia

Vet Advice with Dr. Ron Clarke

When drought and the Great Depression introduced the 1930s, the wheat market collapsed. Oceans of wheat had replaced the sea of prairie grass that anchored the topsoil into place. Once the wheat dried up, the land was defenseless against the winds that buffeted the Plains. The term “dust pneumonia” originated during the Great Depression when […] Read more

(Photo courtesy Canada Beef Inc.)

Klassen: Feeder market stabilizes after December surge

Compared to last week, western Canadian feeder cattle prices traded $3-$4 on either side of unchanged. Small groups of various quality characterized sale volumes. There were a few packages of backgrounded yearlings that sold at decent levels. Finishing feedlots were fairly aggressive on groups in the 700- to 800-lb. category. Higher flesh levels have become […] Read more


CME February 2022 live cattle (candlesticks) with 20-, 50- and 100-day moving averages (pink, dark red and black lines). (Barchart)

U.S. livestock: CME cattle, hog futures sag as broad selling hits markets

Crude, U.S. equities caught in sell-off

Chicago | Reuters — Chicago Mercantile Exchange livestock futures slumped on Monday as traders reduced risk in the face of rising coronavirus cases, brokers said. Selling hit a range of markets including crude oil, which lost more than three per cent, and U.S. stocks. “The risk-off trade is back today,” said Dan Norcini, an independent […] Read more

By wintering with their mothers, calves learn skills such as bale grazing.

Wintering calves with the cow herd

Keeping calves on the cows over winter offers many benefits, these ranchers say, but producers may need to adjust their herd genetics and management practices

Winter feeding is one of the highest costs of raising cattle. Some ranchers who keep calves over winter are finding they can winter those calves more efficiently by leaving them on the cows, while also reducing illness and stress in the calves. Canadian Cattlemen talked to two ranchers to find out what it takes to […] Read more


Bob Speller, shown here in a 2011 campaign video, died Dec. 16, 2021. (Video screengrab via YouTube)

Former federal agriculture minister Bob Speller, 65

Ontario MP served in Paul Martin's cabinet

A memorial will be held next week for Bob Speller, the Ontario businessman who served as Canada’s agriculture minister in the thick of the country’s BSE crisis. Speller, the MP for the southwestern Ontario riding of what’s now Haldimand-Norfolk from 1988 to 2004, died Thursday at age 65. A cause of death wasn’t given in […] Read more

A microscope-level view of damaged brain tissue from a cow infected with BSE. (USDA photo via U.S. Food and Drug Administration)

‘Atypical’ BSE shows up in Alberta cow

Spontaneous case won't affect Canada's 'negligible risk' status, CFIA says

Updated –– Canada’s first case of BSE since the country achieved “negligible risk” status for the brain-wasting cattle disease isn’t expected to affect trade in Canadian beef. The Canadian Food Inspection Agency said Friday it has notified the World Organization for Animal Health (OIE) of a case of “atypical” bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) in an […] Read more


CME February 2022 lean hogs (candlesticks) with 20- and 100-day moving averages (yellow and brown lines) and CME lean hog index (black line). (Barchart)

U.S. livestock: Hog futures end mixed ahead of USDA data

Chicago cattle close lower, rangebound

Chicago | Reuters — Chicago Mercantile Exchange lean hog futures closed mixed on Friday, with the front February contract gaining against deferred months as traders squared positions ahead of a quarterly U.S. government hog report due next week, traders said. Most-active February hog futures settled up 0.45 cent at 80.8 cents/lb., while April hogs ended […] Read more

File photo of a feedlot in the U.S. where cash prices have hit multi-year highs.

U.S. cash cattle market sees significant gains, Canadian market more subdued

The Markets with Deb McMillin, from the January 2022 issue of Canadian Cattlemen

Fed cattle The cash market in the U.S. has seen significant gains, with prices reaching highs not seen since 2015. However, in Canada, ample market-ready supply coupled with recent packing plant labour issues kept a lid on local prices and led to a wider than historically normal basis. A huge shift in basis took place […] Read more