(Olymel video screengrab via YouTube)

Union rejects province’s call for arbitration in Olymel strike

Labour minister had proposed third-party settlement

A proposal from Quebec’s labour minister to end a four-month strike at a major hog slaughter plant, which has created a backlog of market-weight hogs on farms in Eastern Canada, has been rejected by the workers’ union. Provincial Labour Minister Jean Boulet, at a meeting Thursday morning, put out a proposal to meat packer Olymel […] Read more

CME October 2021 live cattle (candlesticks) with 20-, 50- and 100-day moving averages (red, brown and black lines). (Barchart)

U.S. livestock: CME cattle futures fall on lower cash cattle

Hogs down on supply expectations

Chicago | Reuters — Chicago Mercantile Exchange live cattle futures fell for a third day on Thursday, as the softer cash market in the southern U.S. Plains weighed on futures, traders said. “This cash just continues to struggle,” said Joe Kooima, commodity broker at Kooima Kooima Varilek Trading Inc. “We’ve just got that anchor in […] Read more


An Asian giant hornet, trapped at Birch Bay, Wash. on July 14, 2020 by Washington State Department of Agriculture (WSDA) researchers, is seen at Olympia, Wash. on July 29, 2020. (Photo: WSDA/Chris Looney/handout via Reuters)

Washington state eradicates first ‘murder hornet’ nest of the year

Nest found in northwestern county near B.C. border

Reuters — Washington state eradicated its first Asian giant hornet nest of the year by vacuuming out 113 worker hornets and removing bark and decayed wood near the nest, Washington State Department of Agriculture (WSDA) officials said Thursday. The so-called stinging “murder hornets,” the world’s largest hornets, can grow to five centimetres in length and […] Read more

File photo of hogs in an outdoor pen on St. Croix in the U.S. Virgin Islands. (EAGiven/iStock/Getty Images)

U.S. seeks to protect pork exports if swine fever hits territories

Policy would distinguish Puerto Rico, Virgin Islands from mainland

Chicago | Reuters — The United States said on Thursday it is seeking to avoid disruptions to pork exports if the territories of Puerto Rico or the U.S. Virgin Islands detect the fatal pig disease African swine fever. The risk for infections in the territories is higher after the Dominican Republic last month confirmed the […] Read more


File photo of a platter of sliced raw beef served in Singapore for use in shabu-shabu, a Japanese-style hotpot dish. (Kenneth Chew/iStock/Getty Images)

Singapore clears all Canadian beef for import

Country first to lift BSE-era restrictions under new status

Canada’s new official international status as a “negligible risk” country for bovine spongiform encephalopathy now has its first recognition from a beef-importing nation. Singapore has approved the Canadian Food Inspection Agency’s certificate for exports of all Canadian beef, including beef offal, with no restrictions on the age of the cattle from which the beef was […] Read more

CME October 2021 live cattle (candlesticks) with Bollinger bands (20,2). (Barchart)

U.S. livestock: CME cattle futures ease as beef prices cool

Lean hog index still at premium to futures

Chicago | Reuters — Chicago Mercantile Exchange live cattle futures eased on Wednesday, as beef prices eased ahead of the Labour Day holiday, traditionally a big beef consumption holiday, traders said. “We’re getting into that lull period ahead of the Labour Day holiday, where the retailers have already got their product purchased from the packers,” […] Read more



Boosting forage quality through ammoniation

Boosting forage quality through ammoniation

Anhydrous ammonia can improve poor-quality forage, but it comes with challenges and safety risks.

Ranchers and beef farmers who have sourced straw for their cows may now be looking for ways to boost the ration quality. Ammoniation is one option, but it’s not easily done.  Applying anhydrous ammonia is a “tried-and-true technique” for improving poor-quality forages, says Dr. John McKinnon, speaking during a Beef Research Council of Canada webinar on […] Read more


From left to right: Peter, Lyal Jr., Rose, Spencer and Isaiah Fox.

Building a career as a livestock buyer

Lyal Fox Jr. reflects on what’s changed, what’s remained constant and what he’s learned over the years buying livestock

The Fox family is well known in the Canadian livestock industry, as breeders of Holsteins, Percheron and Morgan horses, polled Hereford and Angus cattle, and sheep. They have been involved in many different operations all over the world. One family member, Lyal Fox Jr., forged a slightly different path as a livestock buyer. In the […] Read more

CME October 2021 live cattle (candlesticks) with 20-, 50- and 100-day moving averages (pink, red and brown lines). (Barchart)

U.S. livestock: CME cattle futures post new highs, end mixed

Hogs down on supply outlook

Chicago | Reuters — Chicago Mercantile Exchange live cattle futures rallied to contract highs on Tuesday but ended mixed, with nearby contracts pressured by ideas that beef prices are topping out after a surge to nearly 15-month highs, traders said. Deferred live cattle contracts, however, were higher on the day on concerns about tight cattle […] Read more