
Livestock

The role animals play in pandemics
Vet Advice with Dr. Ron Clarke
The world has hardened to COVID-19: the many variants, the masks, public isolation, health precautions and the reminders that SARS-CoV-2 hasn’t gone away. Globally, WHO reported over 500,000,000 cases with 6,400,000 deaths at press time. A total of 12,300,000 doses of vaccine were administered. And the numbers keep climbing. On January 30, 2020, WHO declared […] Read more

Swiss reject initiative to ban factory farming
Voters back narrowly back rise in women's retirement age to 65
Geneva | Reuters — Swiss voters on Sunday rejected a proposal to ban factory farming in a referendum on whether the wealthy country’s strict animal welfare laws need to be tightened yet further. The government’s VoteInfo App showed a provisional result of 62.86 per cent of votes against the proposal, put to a referendum under […] Read more

U.S. livestock: CME live cattle, lean hogs slide on recession worries
Feeder cattle up on lower corn prices
Chicago | Reuters — Chicago Mercantile Exchange live cattle futures fell to their lowest level since early August on Friday on fears of a global recession that could curb demand for commodities including beef, traders said. CME October live cattle settled down 0.6 cent at 144.25 cents/lb. and the most-active December contract fell 0.8 cent […] Read more

U.S. livestock: CME cattle, hogs sag on macroeconomic concerns
Economy raises concern for beef demand
Chicago | Reuters — Chicago Mercantile Exchange live cattle futures ended lower on Thursday, extending a pull-back from four-month highs set this week as traders worried about the health of the world economy and softening demand for beef, traders said. CME October live cattle ended down 1.025 cents at 144.85 cents/lb. and the most-active December […] Read more

VIDEO: Artificial intelligence at the heart of cattle ID system
Face, body identification for livestock at your fingertips
Many folks in the ag business have likely heard of precision agriculture, but how about precision ranching? Well, technology has reached the point where that term may be about to get more familiar. OneCup AI is a technology that can monitor and track animal health, welfare, activity, growth and nutrition using computer-based vision and a […] Read more

U.S. livestock: CME hogs down on weak pork prices, macroeconomic fears
Chicago cattle also end lower ahead of report
Chicago | Reuters — Chicago Mercantile Exchange lean hog futures fell nearly two per cent on Wednesday as falling wholesale pork prices and worries about the health of the global economy triggered a round of long liquidation, traders said. CME October lean hogs settled down 1.55 cents at 94.425 cents/lb. and most-active December hogs fell […] Read more

Tick paralysis
Veterinary Case Study: These small insects can cause big health problems in livestock and pets alike
Wyatt managed a community pasture southeast of Regina. Being an excellent horseman, one of the gratuities his job offered was starting young horses for clients, the opportunity to instill cow-sense into green horses while conditioning them, readying them for competition and ranch life. Wyatt’s call conveyed panic. He had found a promising and expensive filly […] Read more

U.S. livestock: CME live cattle firm on strong cash trade
Nearby hogs lower despite cash strength
Chicago | Reuters — Chicago Mercantile Exchange live cattle strengthened on Tuesday, underpinned by strong cash markets and tight supplies of market-ready cattle, though recession fears limit gains, traders said. “We saw some pretty strong cash trade in the western corn belt yesterday,” said Alan Brugler, president of Brugler Marketing. “Our long-term bias is higher, […] Read more

Strike three? Transport rest stops still don’t show a benefit for weaned calves
Research on the Record with Reynold Bergen
In 2017, the Canadian Food Inspection Agency released draft transport regulations requiring that all cattle receive a minimum eight-hour feed, water and rest break after a maximum of 36 hours in transit. Because there was no relevant science to support this decision, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada (AAFC) and the BCRC funded a Beef Cluster project […] Read more

Klassen: Weaker Canadian dollar supports feeder market
Weather optimal for bringing in fresh replacements
Compared to last week, western Canadian yearlings traded steady to $2 higher on average while calves traded $2 higher to $4 lower. The calf market was hard to define due to limited numbers while larger supplies of yearlings were on offer in Manitoba this past week. Alberta packers were buying fed cattle on a dressed […] Read more