calves on pasture

Calving records support decision-making

Start simple by tracking two or three things to help make decisions when it’s time to pick replacements or cull the herd

Late March and early April come around for another year and on many farms in Western Canada, the chaos of calving ensues. In the wet and slushy weather of early spring, producers often find themselves wandering in the dead of night, breath still billowing in front of them, to check on a calving cow. The […] Read more

(Photo courtesy Canada Beef Inc.)

Klassen: Stronger fed cattle market pulls feeders upward

Feedlots becoming more current with production

Compared to last week, western Canadian yearling and calf markets were quoted steady to $5 higher on average. Strength was noted in southern Alberta. In the Lethbridge area, prices for lighter flesh replacements were up as much as $10 from seven days earlier. Larger supplies of backgrounded cattle are coming on the market at this […] Read more


CME June 2023 live cattle with 20-, 50- and 100-day moving averages. (Barchart)

U.S. livestock: June live cattle, hogs continue lower

Feeder cattle also down on day

Chicago Mercantile Exchange’s most-active June live cattle and lean hog contracts continued on a downward track in Monday’s trade. June live cattle closed Monday at $155.525, beneath the lower end of its 20-day Bollinger range and down 87.5 cents from Friday’s close (all figures US$ per hundredweight). Front-month April, meanwhile, opened near its 50-day moving […] Read more

CME April 2023 lean hogs with 20-, 50- and 100-day moving averages. (Barchart)

U.S. livestock: Nearby CME lean hogs recover slightly from slide

April cattle futures lower; U.S. cattle on feed in line with expectations

Chicago | Reuters — Chicago Mercantile Exchange lean hog futures ended slightly higher in the nearby contract on Friday in a rebound from steep declines this week, though deferred contracts extended losses, traders said. Lower cutout values continue to hang over the futures market, along with broader pressure from market turmoil in the banking sector, […] Read more


File photo of young birds on a Canadian broiler operation. (Elena Bionysheva-Abramova/iStock/Getty Images)

B.C. farmers granted late entry for AgriStability

Avian flu, 'extreme weather' events considered

With bird flu outbreaks and last spring’s weather woes in mind, farmers and ranchers in British Columbia are now spotted until the end of June to enrol in AgriStability. The province and the federal ag department on Tuesday announced they’ve agreed on a late participation option for the 2022 program year. In this case, the […] Read more

(Stephen Ausmus photo courtesy ARS/USDA)

High-path avian flu pops back up in southern Ontario

Three outbreaks in Canadian poultry this month, plus skunks

Feather industry officials are calling for “extreme caution” among poultry farmers after cases of highly pathogenic avian influenza turned up at two southern Ontario properties in the past week. The Canadian Food Inspection Agency said it has confirmed cases of the virus detected last Friday in a backyard poultry flock in the municipality of Chatham-Kent, […] Read more


CME June 2023 lean hogs with 20-, 50- and 100-day moving averages. (Barchart)

U.S. livestock: Hogs limit down on disease chatter

Chicago cattle futures close higher

Chicago | Reuters — Chicago Mercantile Exchange lean hog futures sank by the maximum daily trading limit on Thursday on rumours about a potential outbreak of a fatal pig disease which the U.S. government later said were untrue. Unsubstantiated chatter about a U.S. case of African swine fever swirled in the market, but the U.S. […] Read more

One study used laboratory measurements and eight trained sensory panellists to compare the eating quality of 100 dark-cutting steaks to 100 normal steaks.

Can Canada reduce dark-cutting discounts?

Research on the Record with Reynold Bergen

When cattle are severely stressed before slaughter there’s an increased risk that the rib-eye will remain dark red instead of blooming to a bright red colour. This phenomenon is called dark cutting. Extremely dark fresh beef isn’t visually appealing to consumers and has a shorter shelf life, so Canada’s grading system assigns these carcasses to […] Read more


CME April 2023 live cattle with 20-, 50- and 100-day moving averages. (Barchart)

U.S. livestock: CME cattle set multi-week lows as bank selloff hits Wall Street

April hogs, feeder cattle also lower

Chicago | Reuters — Chicago Mercantile Exchange cattle futures tumbled to multi-week lows on Wednesday as losses in U.S. stocks and fears about a banking crisis spilled into livestock markets, analysts said. The Dow and S+P 500 closed lower as problems at Credit Suisse piled more pressure on the banking sector. Declines in equities hit […] Read more

(WPohlDesign/iStock/Getty Images)

Klassen: Feeder market scaling fresh heights

Heifer retention expected in U.S. this spring

Compared to last week, western Canadian yearling markets traded $5 to as much as $10 higher. Replacements in the 650- to 800-lb. category were up $6-$12; calves under 650 lbs. were relatively unchanged although volumes were limited. Lightweight calves were hard to come by last week. Weather may have been a factor. Many factors contributed […] Read more