(Photo courtesy Canada Beef Inc.)

U.S. livestock: Fund buying rallies cattle futures

Chicago | Reuters — Chicago Mercantile Exchange live cattle contracts on Tuesday reversed Monday’s losses, supported by short-covering and technical buying, said traders. Funds that follow the Standard + Poor’s Goldman Sachs Commodity Index periodically sold, or “rolled,” August futures and simultaneously bought October on the second of five days of the Goldman Roll process. […] Read more

A scanning electron micrograph of Salmonella enteritidis cells. (P.J. Guard-Petter photo, digitally colourized by Stephen Ausmus, courtesy ARS/USDA)

The battle against AMR drags on

Vet Advice with Dr. Ron Clarke

The CVMA (Canadian Veterinary Medical Association) has embarked on an exercise to script another chapter into the debate on prudent use of antibiotics in animals. Its plan: participation in an antimicrobial use (AMU) workshop of Canadian veterinarians, veterinary researchers and educators, government officials and species-group stakeholders working in the areas of swine, poultry, beef, dairy, […] Read more


(Photo courtesy Canada Beef Inc.)

Klassen: Feeder market eyes feed grain rally

Western Canadian feeder cattle prices were relatively unchanged from week-ago levels. Limited cattle were on offer with the shortened holiday week, but quality groups were well bid. Feedlot operators have been aggressively selling fed cattle, freeing up pen space. Although feedlot inventories decline in the summer, many operations want to carry sufficient numbers into the […] Read more

A close-up screengrab from near 100 Mile House on the B.C. Wildfire Animal Resource Map. Tags in red denote producers with livestock needing to be moved; tags in green denote offers of space or transport for affected livestock.

BCCA connecting ranchers, haulers in wildfire areas

Livestock producers needing to move animals out of wildfire zones in British Columbia’s Interior are being asked to contact the B.C. Cattlemen’s Association. The BCCA, on its website, said it’s helping to co-ordinate haulers with producers who need to evacuate livestock. “With closures of highways and evacuation orders, permits are needed to re-enter evacuated areas […] Read more


Cattle drink from the Yamuna River near Agra in northern India. (CIA.gov)

India’s top court suspends ban on trade in cattle for slaughter

New Delhi | Reuters — India’s Supreme Court suspended on Tuesday a government ban on the trade of cattle for slaughter, a boost for the multi-billion dollar beef and leather industries mostly run by members of the Muslim minority. Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Hindu nationalist government in May decreed that markets could only trade cattle […] Read more

(Photo courtesy Canada Beef Inc.)

U.S. livestock: Cash price unease pressures CME live cattle

Chicago | Reuters — Chicago Mercantile Exchange live cattle futures closed lower on Monday, weakened by sell stops and uncertainty regarding cash prices later this week, traders said. Funds that track the Standard + Poor’s Goldman Sachs Commodity Index at times sold, or “rolled,” August futures and simultaneously bought October on the first of five […] Read more


Silage cut too dry can cause overheating resulting in brown or burnt-looking patches.

The silage pit has no secrets

Nutrition with John McKinnon

Last month I wrote about the importance of variety when it comes to seeding barley for silage. When writing that article, I got thinking about the principles of making good-quality silage, particularly in relation to feed quality. What really brought this connection home to me however, was my experiences this past winter where I had […] Read more

(Lafleur.com)

Olymel plans sausage production at Red Deer

New equipment and refrigerated storage are going into Olymel’s Alberta pork processing plant at Red Deer as the facility gets into the sausage business. Pork and poultry processor Olymel, owned mainly by Quebec agribusiness co-operative La Coop federee, announced Monday it will put up $2 million to convert a section of the Red Deer plant […] Read more