CME August 2021 feeder cattle (candlesticks) with 20-day moving average (red line) and CBOT July 2021 corn (yellow line). (Barchart)

U.S. livestock: CME feeder cattle gain on lower corn

December live cattle, July hogs up

Chicago | Reuters — Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) feeder cattle futures gained on Thursday, lifted by lower corn futures and firmer back-month live cattle. “From the feeder buyer’s perspective, you had higher cattle and lower corn, so that’s a good deal,” said Alan Brugler, president of Brugler Marketing. CME August feeder cattle closed 1.35 cents […] Read more

Screengrab from a 2018 video showing cold storage at the JBS beef slaughter and packing plant at Brooks, Alta. (JBS video via YouTube)

JBS plants reopen as White House blames Russia over hack

Washington/Chicago | Reuters — JBS SA employees started returning to U.S. meat plants on Wednesday, a day after the company’s beef operations stopped following a ransomware attack, disrupting meat production in North America and Australia. A notorious Russia-linked hacking group is behind the cyberattack against JBS, a source familiar with the matter said. Brazil’s JBS […] Read more


Simmental cattle on pasture.

Canadian Simmental Association convention moves online

The Canadian Simmental Association (CSA) along with the Manitoba Simmental Association (MSA) have decided to postpone the CSA convention until 2022 as we respect the current Covid-19 situation and resulting regulations in that province.  The CSA will instead hold its 2021 Annual General Meeting via a Zoom electronic format on Saturday July 24th with further information […] Read more

CME August 2021 live cattle (candlesticks) with 20-day moving average (red line) and July 2021 lean hogs (pink open/high/low/close). (Barchart)

U.S. livestock: CME cattle futures rise as JBS reopens plants

July hogs down off Tuesday's peak

Chicago | Reuters — Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) cattle futures firmed on Wednesday, bouncing back from Tuesday’s steep decline that stemmed from a shutdown of JBS SA’s beef operations due to a cyberattack. JBS employees were returning to U.S. meat plants on Wednesday, with a return to full capacity in the next couple of days. […] Read more


The Beef Cattle Research Council has released its five-year research and extension strategy.

How Mother Nature hedges her bets

Research on the Record with Reynold Bergen

Pasture plants are generally classified as decreasers, increasers and invaders. Decreaser species are the plants you want to see and your cattle prefer to eat, so they face the most grazing pressure. Increaser plants tend to thrive when the decreaser species are challenged by overgrazing, drought or other sub-optimal conditions. Invaders (weeds) proliferate when increasers […] Read more

Jourdyn Sammons

Moving towards a career with purpose

Young Leader Spotlight: Discovering an interest in range management has broadened Jourdyn Sammons' educational opportunities

When Jourdyn Sammons joined the University of Saskatchewan’s Range Team in her third year of undergraduate studies, it led to an exciting field of study that’s positively shaped her educational experience.  “We talk about varying topics like ecology and grazing practices and multiple-use relationships, like how people can utilize rangeland for its facilities,” says Sammons, who grew up on a cow-calf and grain farm near Gleichen, Alta.   “The […] Read more


Video screengrab featuring an office at the JBS beef plant at Brooks, Alta. (JBS video via YouTube)

JBS Canada plant up and running after cyberattack

Brooks beef plant has 'resumed production'

Meat packer JBS’s major beef slaughter plant in Alberta went back to work Tuesday following a cyberattack reported to have downed several of the company’s operations in North America and Australia. JBS USA, the unit overseeing the Brazilian firm’s Canadian operations, and JBS-owned chicken unit Pilgrim’s Pride both reported “significant progress in resolving the cyberattack […] Read more

File photo of a rooster being swabbed in testing for avian influenza. (Merrimon/iStock/Getty Images)

China reports first human case of H10N3 bird flu

Strain 'not a very common virus'

Beijing | Reuters — A 41-year-old man in China’s eastern province of Jiangsu has been confirmed as the first human case of infection with a rare strain of bird flu known as H10N3, Beijing’s National Health Commission (NHC) said on Tuesday. Many different strains of bird flu are present in China and some sporadically infect […] Read more


CME August 2021 live cattle (candlesticks) with July 2021 lean hogs (pink open/high/low/close). (Barchart)

U.S. livestock: Cattle futures fall on cyberattack at JBS

July hogs touch contract high

Chicago | Reuters — Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) cattle futures tumbled on Tuesday after JBS stopped slaughtering at U.S. plants because of a cyberattack. Brazil’s JBS told the U.S. government that a ransomware attack on the company originated from a criminal organization likely based in Russia, according to the White House. It is not known […] Read more

(Photo courtesy Canada Beef Inc.)

Klassen: Feeder market remains firm

Canada's feeder exports down off year-ago levels

Compared to last week, western Canadian feeder cattle prices were steady to $2 higher on average. Strength was noted in the mid-weight categories as lighter calves and yearlings (900 pounds-plus) were relatively unchanged. Major feedlots were dominant buyers, with little demand surfacing for grassers. Feeding margins are in positive territory and recent rains have enhance […] Read more