Three men in Alberta wearing face masks in 1918 during the Spanish influenza epidemic.

Vet Advice: Pandemic amnesia

Rarely is there perfect information about emerging disease

Face the North Wind is the compelling true story of cousins Fred Darbyshire and Ed Theriau, two young men from Sturgis, Sask., who ventured 1,000 kilometres north to Wollaston and Cree Lakes by canoe and dog team in search of fur. For 25 winters they survived on bear grease, caribou, fish and tea in the […] Read more

CME August 2020 live cattle with 20- and 50-day moving averages. (Barchart)

U.S. livestock: Cattle, hogs end firm on light recovery bounce

Ramped-up slaughter pace keeps lid on rallies

Chicago | Reuters — U.S. live cattle futures closed modestly higher on Monday, shaking off early declines and firming on technical buying ahead the end of the month and quarter, after a three-session slide last week, traders said. A firmer close in Wall Street equity markets lent support as optimism about the U.S. economy could […] Read more


An image created by Nexu Science Communication, together with Trinity College in Dublin, shows a model structurally representative of a betacoronavirus, the type of virus linked to COVID-19. (Nexu Science Communication via Reuters)

Ontario pledges farm recruiter crackdown as COVID-19 outbreaks grow

Ford rips 'fly-by-nighters just trying to make a quick buck'

Toronto | Reuters –– Ontario will crack down on “fly-by-night” recruitment agencies sending workers on to farms, the premier said on Monday, after a testing blitz identified a major coronavirus outbreak on a farm in southwestern Ontario. “We’re reaching out to all the farmers, we’re getting a list of these recruitment agencies. We found out […] Read more

File photo of an Alberta wheat field. (ImagineGolf/E+/Getty Images)

StatsCan survey shows bump up in wheat acres, particularly durum

Farmers back off canola, soybeans; pandemic expected to cause other problems for ag

Ottawa | Reuters — Canadian farmers planted slightly more wheat overall in 2020 than in 2019, but the coronavirus outbreak will pose “unique challenges” in the production and distribution of crops, Statistics Canada said on Monday. Farmers planted 25 million acres of wheat, up 1.5 per cent from 2019, thanks in part to a 16.2 […] Read more


Federal Health Minister Patty Hajdu leaves a news conference in Ottawa on March 23, 2020. (Photo: Reuters/Blair Gable)

Health minister calls treatment of some farm workers a ‘national disgrace’

Ministers discussing changes to Canada's TFW program

Ottawa | Reuters — The treatment of migrant workers in Canada by some farmers is disgraceful and the federal government is seeking to fix the problem, the country’s health minister told a parliamentary committee on Friday, as farms battle COVID-19 outbreaks among their employees. Outbreaks of coronavirus infections have killed three people and infected hundreds […] Read more

CME August 2020 lean hogs with 20- and 50-day moving averages. (Barchart)

U.S. livestock: Hogs tumble on bigger-than-expected supply, economic concerns

Rising COVID-19 counts raise fears for beef demand

Chicago | Reuters — U.S. lean hog futures plunged by as much as the daily trading limit on Friday and ended sharply lower after the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) estimated supplies above already-high trade expectations. Economic concerns amid rising novel coronavirus infections added pressure to hogs and also dragged down cattle futures, which finished […] Read more


U.S. livestock: Hogs mostly higher ahead of USDA inventory data

U.S. livestock: Hogs mostly higher ahead of USDA inventory data

CME feeder cattle firm up on lower corn prices

Chicago | Reuters — U.S. lean hog futures were mostly higher on Thursday, lifted by firmer cash hog markets and position squaring ahead of a quarterly hog inventory report that was released after the close. Futures have been sliding for most of the past two months as hog supplies swelled due to numerous packing plant […] Read more



File photo of a green soybean crop south of Winnipeg. (Dougall_Photography/iStock/Getty Images)

U.S. grains: Soy, corn slump on crop weather, economic concerns

U.S. Midwest sees generally mild temperatures

Chicago | Reuters — U.S. soybean futures eased for a third straight session on Wednesday and corn futures were mostly lower as forecasts for rains and limited crop-stressing heat across the Midwest farm belt bolstered production prospects. Weak outside markets also hung over grain futures, with equities and crude oil posting steep losses as rising […] Read more

(Photo courtesy Canada Beef Inc.)

U.S. livestock: Cattle, hog futures down on big supplies, economic jitters

Surge in U.S. COVID-19 cases rattles Wall Street

Chicago | Reuters — U.S. cattle futures eased on Wednesday and hog futures were mostly lower on ample livestock supplies and concerns about rising coronavirus infections and their negative impact on the economy. Wall Street’s three major indexes tumbled on Wednesday and crude oil plunged more than five per cent as a surge in U.S. […] Read more