cattle handling facility

Heifers by the hundreds

Primrose Livestock has set up a heifer station in Saskatchewan

Calving out 900 heifers is demanding work at the best of times. Factor in a nasty Saskatchewan winter without so much as a hint of a southern Alberta chinook to melt the mountains of snow in 2014, and it’s a remarkable feat for an operation in its first production cycle. Kyle Primrose, who hails from […] Read more

(Regis Lefebure photo courtesy ARS/USDA)

U.S. livestock: CME hog futures slump on strong dollar, bird flu woes

Chicago | Reuters — Chicago Mercantile Exchange lean hog futures fell three per cent Wednesday, with deferred contracts making new lows, on the strong dollar and bird flu in Arkansas, traders said. The U.S. Department of Agriculture on Wednesday confirmed the case of highly pathogenic avian influenza in a commercial turkey flock in Arkansas. Investors […] Read more


angus cow in a pasture

A welcome new cow plant for North America

It’s a rare day when plans are unveiled for a new beef-processing plant in North America. But that’s what happened in early January when two well-known U.S. entities announced plans to build a US$100-million plant near Boise, Idaho. Even more interesting is that it will be a cow plant, the first new one in 10 […] Read more

(Photo courtesy Canada Beef Inc.)

U.S. livestock: CME live cattle futures mixed as dollar, stocks weigh

Chicago | Reuters — Chicago Mercantile Exchange live cattle contracts closed mixed on Tuesday, with nearby futures helped by their discounts to recent cash prices, while back months bowed in part to outside market pressure. April closed 0.75 cent/lb. higher at 154.75 cents, and June up 0.1 cent at 146.25 cents (all figures US$). August […] Read more



(Photo courtesy Canada Beef Inc.)

U.S. livestock: Profit-taking undermines CME live cattle

Chicago | Reuters — Chicago Mercantile Exchange live cattle ended lower on Monday, pressured by profit-taking and funds that sold or “rolled” April contracts and simultaneously bought deferred months, traders said. Funds involved in CME’s livestock markets that follow the Standard + Poor’s Goldman Sachs Commodity Index (S+P GSCI) shifted their April positions in a […] Read more



(Photo courtesy Canada Beef Inc.)

U.S. livestock: CME live cattle futures jump with cash prices

Chicago | Reuters — Chicago Mercantile Exchange live cattle settled higher on Friday, driven by short-covering in response to strong preliminary cash prices, traders said. April closed 1.375 cents per pound higher at 154.65 cents, and June ended up 1.075 cents at 147.1 cents (all figures US$). A small number of market-ready (cash) cattle in […] Read more