A steer panting excessively due to heat stress.

Warmer weather boosts ergot risk in cattle

Researchers found symptoms ranging from decreased weight gain to heat stress even though ergot levels in feed didn’t breach CFIA limits

New research has found that feedlot cattle can develop problems when fed ergot even within allowable limits. Ergot is a fungus that can grow on certain grasses and grain plants when moisture conditions are just right. It becomes a problem mainly after a wet growing season. The fungus replaces the seed head with a dark […] Read more

Fed cattle prices hit six-year highs

Fed cattle prices hit six-year highs

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

Fed cattle It is not very often we see annual highs set for fed cattle in August! Fed cattle prices have traded the typical sluggish summer market for a contra-seasonal strong market driven by manageable supplies, smaller carcass weights and solid beef demand. The mid-August fed steer cash price was $177.41/cwt — not only the […] Read more



(Photo courtesy Canada Beef Inc.)

Klassen: Feeder markets digest StatCan data

Barley crop expected up 34 per cent on year

Compared to last week, western Canadian yearling markets traded steady to $2 higher. Yearling prices have strengthened by $8-$10 over the past four weeks. Calf values were relatively unchanged but the market was hard to define due to limited volumes. Alberta packers were buying on a dressed basis from $300 to $302 delivered, up $1-$2 […] Read more


Photo: ARS/USDA

U.S. livestock: Hog futures fall as soy prices rally

Chicago | Reuters – Chicago Mercantile Exchange hog futures fell on Tuesday, with strength in the soymeal market raising the prospects of increased feeding costs. Feeder cattle contracts were also weaker due to strong corn prices while live cattle edged higher on light technical buying. CME October lean hogs LHV2 fell 1.075 cents to 92.9 cents per […] Read more



Retaining ownership of livestock in a feedlot, and marketing from there, is one choice that falls into the “place” category of marketing.

Don’t leave money on the table when marketing cattle

Remember the pillars of marketing when selling cattle: time, form and place

Marketing cattle from your ranch is dependent on the pillars of marketing that we learn in ag marketing classes at many of our universities — time, form and place. Market reports and information help us choose the time of marketing. We can choose the time to negotiate or take a price and a time to […] Read more



A meat display at a grocery store.

Show us the money, Part 1: What does the producer share of the retail beef dollar mean?

When looking at the farmer share of the retail dollar, we must recognize that U.S. prices still dominate the price structures of both our cow-calf and feedlot sectors

A common concern in agricultural circles is what proportion or percentage of the price of a litre of milk, a loaf of bread or a beef steak makes its way back to the producer. I have written and spoken about this before, but I cannot do so again without first admitting that I have sometimes […] Read more

Brazilian meatpacker JBS SA’s logo on a tower in Jundiai, northwest of Sao Paulo in southeastern Brazil, on June 1, 2017. (File photo: Reuters/Paulo Whitaker)

JBS quarterly profit falls almost 10 per cent but tops estimates

Cattle prices 'above the expected level'

Sao Paulo | Reuters — JBS, the world’s largest meatpacker, posted an almost 10 per cent drop in net profits, to US$766 million, driven by the relative weakness of its U.S. beef and pork units in the second quarter, according to an earnings statement on Thursday. Still, it beat analysts’ forecasts. JBS reported a 4.6 […] Read more