Cattle industry concerns shared by many in the U.S.

Cattle industry concerns shared by many in the U.S.

Politics and trade are high on the radar

Beyond the markets and the weather, American cattlemen are riveted on the presidential election more than ever before. Why? You are familiar with Hollywood movie sequels. Well, this is “The Most Important Election in Your Lifetime: Part 3.” How much can any governmental system take? The present state of the economy, the breakdown in the […] Read more



(Keith Weller photo courtesy ARS/USDA)

New Zealand dairy industry worries over Canada pricing plan

Wellington/Winnipeg | Reuters — New Zealand is closely watching changes in how Canada prices dairy products, New Zealand’s trade ministry said on Friday, as industry groups in several countries complain of unfair Canadian competition. Canada’s dairy farmers and processors, which include Saputo and Parmalat Canada, struck a pricing agreement in July that industry groups in […] Read more


(Dave Bedard photo)

Farm gate prices fall in August on meat, dairy

Ottawa | Reuters — Canadian producer prices unexpectedly fell in August as meat and dairy products saw the largest decrease in nearly nine years, while lower prices for energy and petroleum products also weighed, data from Statistics Canada showed on Friday. The 0.5 per cent decline in producer prices fell well short of analysts’ expectations […] Read more



(USDA.gov via Flickr)

USDA requires meat packers to report online cattle auction deals

Chicago | Reuters –– The U.S. Department of Agriculture said Thursday it will require meat packers to report cattle purchases they make through online auctions to the agency starting next week, a move that stoked traders’ hopes for more transparent markets. USDA will begin including transactions from auctions on the Fed Cattle Exchange in pricing […] Read more



(Photo courtesy Canada Beef Inc.)

U.S. livestock: Cattle, hogs mostly higher on short-covering

Chicago | Reuters — U.S. cattle and hog futures were mostly higher on Wednesday, with feeder cattle rallying about one per cent on short-covering following recent lows, traders msaid. Several Chicago Mercantile Exchange lean hog contracts fell to lifetime lows before trimming losses as traders squared up their positions ahead of a quarterly U.S. hog […] Read more

cows eating pellets- Glen Nicoll

Another crazy year for growing hay!

Nutrition with John McKinnon, beef cattle nutritionist

Looking back at the spring/summer of 2016, the year was fairly typical in that there was a great deal of variation in growing conditions across the country. Much of Western Canada was blessed with significant moisture that resulted in great growing conditions for pasture, hay and silage crops. However, ill-timed rains forced many producers to […] Read more