Livestock , Latest & Featured - Canadian Cattlemen

CCA Report: Trade front and centre

From the December 2016 issue of Canadian Cattlemen

By Dan Darling December 12, 2016

The Canadian Cattlemen’s Association (CCA) has long understood the important role of trade and market access in securing long-term competitiveness for the beef industry. We have expended much time and money over many years to ensure trade pacts produce meaningful results for beef producers and enable trade to flow unimpeded. As important as securing the […] Read more

OMAFRA headquarters in Guelph. (Photo courtesy OMAFRA)

Livestock

Ontario names new top ag bureaucrat

By John Greig December 12, 2016

Ontario’s Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs (OMAFRA) has a new deputy minister. Greg Meredith will become deputy minister on Jan. 9. A deputy minister is a ministry’s chief civil servant, managing its implementation of government policy. Meredith replaces Dr. Deb Stark, who recently retired as deputy minister, capping a 30-year career in public […] Read more

Manitoba Egg Farmers, which in 2013 called a halt to installation of conventional cages, has publicly demonstrated enriched housing systems. (Manitoba Co-operator photo by Shannon VanRaes)

Livestock, Poultry/Eggs

Nestle pledges cage-free eggs for Canadian wares

By Canadian Cattlemen Staff December 10, 2016

The Canadian arm of Swiss food processing giant Nestle has promised to shift its egg supply to “cage-free” sources by 2025. Nestle Canada, whose products using eggs include some of its Lean Cuisine meals and Real Dairy desserts, said Wednesday it was “dedicated to working with Canadian farmers to make this transition.” The Canadian business […] Read more

(Gloria Solano-Aguilar photo courtesy ARS/USDA)

Livestock, Markets, Reuters

U.S. livestock: CME hogs notch three-month high

By Theopolis Waters, GFM Network News December 10, 2016

Chicago | Reuters –– Chicago Mercantile Exchange lean hog futures hit a three-month high on Friday, with help from buy stops and technical buying, traders said. December futures led advances after investors bought the contract and simultaneously sold deferred months. December hogs, which will expire on Wednesday, closed 1.05 cents/lb. higher at 56.725 cents (all […] Read more

Features, Livestock

What’s the margin?

Do you know the economics behind your production practices?

By Steve Kenyon December 9, 2016

Even though the production components of your business are important, they don’t make or break it for you. The most important part of any business is in managing the business itself. The economics and finances behind the production practices are more important than the production practice itself. Two producers can use the same production practice. […] Read more

Livestock, Reuters

Australia approves sale of giant Kidman pastoral holdings

By Colin Packham December 9, 2016

Sydney | Reuters –– Australia on Friday approved the A$386.5 million (C$379.3 million) sale of the country’s largest private landholder S. Kidman and Co. to a consortium led by the country’s richest woman Gina Rinehart, after blocking two previous bids. Rinehart and her minority partner, Chinese developer Shanghai CRED, will now complete the purchase of […] Read more

(Regis Lefebure photo courtesy ARS/USDA)

Livestock, Markets, Reuters

U.S. livestock: Hogs up again on cash prices, fund buying

By Theopolis Waters, GFM Network News December 8, 2016

Chicago | Reuters — Chicago Mercantile Exchange lean hog futures rallied for a fourth consecutive session on Thursday, spurred by higher cash prices and technical buying, said traders. December hogs, which will expire on Dec. 14, closed up 0.975 cent per pound to 55.675 cents (all figures US$). Most actively traded February ended 1.075 cents […] Read more

Livestock, Reuters, Weather

Polar vortex redux? U.S. forecasters say it could hit next week

By Timothy McLaughlin December 8, 2016

Chicago | Reuters –– Forecasters are sending chills down some spines with a prediction that much of the northern half of the U.S. could see frigid weather next week similar to life-threatening lows the polar vortex brought to parts of the country in 2014. Anticipation of a freezing blast began to build this week when […] Read more

Beef Cattle, Livestock, Research

Non-O157 Shiga toxigenic E. coli (STEC)

Research on the Record with Reynold Bergen

By Reynold Bergen December 8, 2016

There are between 50,000 and 100,000 different serotypes (strains) of E. coli. Most are harmless, some may be beneficial, but some produce a very dangerous Shiga toxin. Shiga toxigenic E. coli (STEC) can cause vomiting, diarrhea and abdominal pain in people. E. coli O157:H7 is the most well-known STEC, but it is not the only […] Read more

Anomalies in weekly averaged sea surface temperature (Celsius) over the Pacific for the week centred on Nov. 30, 2016. (CPC.ncep.noaa.gov)

Livestock, Reuters, Weather

U.S. forecaster sees weak La Nina likely to fade in early 2017

By Reuters December 8, 2016

New York | Reuters — A U.S. government weather forecaster on Thursday said weak La Nina conditions were present but favoured to dissipate in the coming months. The National Weather Service’s Climate Prediction Center said in a monthly forecast that conditions were likely to transition back to neutral during January through March. The report said […] Read more

U.S. livestock: Hog futures hit contract highs on shock herd decline

Alberta Crop Report: Harvest more than three-quarters finished

NFU says proposed plant breeders’ rights come at farmers’ expense

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