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Tag Archives COVID-19

The big question facing the beef industry and the economy as a whole is how quickly they will recover after the coronavirus threat has passed.
Markets, News, Prime cuts

The cruelty of the coronavirus

Prime Cuts with Steve Kay

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The start of the new decade held much promise, whether it was for the global economy or prospects of an even bigger trade with China for North American livestock producers. Much of that promise has been cruelly shattered, at least temporarily, by a new coronavirus (COVID-19) that emerged in central China and made its way […] Read more
(Photo courtesy Canada Beef Inc.)
Beef Cattle, Livestock, Markets

Beef demand soars as consumers ‘aggressively’ stock up

Surge in sales accompanied by a jump in people looking online for recipes

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Canada’s beef demand has been strong during the pandemic. “Unlike previous disease outbreak issues, COVID-19 has not been about food safety or consumer confidence or issues with food products,” Canada Beef president Michael Young said during a recent online town hall. “Beef demand at retail is up 50 to 70 per cent. Consumers have aggressively […] Read more
(Dave Bedard photo)
General, Markets, Weather

Canadian farmland trending less affordable in FCC report

Average values continue rising across board

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The average value of farmland in Canada is continuing to rise faster than farmers’ ability to generate revenue from it, Farm Credit Canada’s latest Farmland Values Report suggests. The report, released Monday, shows the average value of Canadian farmland rose 5.2 per cent in 2019 over 2018, the smallest year-over-year increase since 2010, and down […] Read more
Farmer Anil Salunkhe feeds strawberries to a cow during a 21-day nationwide lockdown to slow the spread of COVID-19 in the Satara district in India’s Maharashtra state on April 1, 2020. (Photo: Reuters/Rajendra Jadhav)
Crops, Markets, Reuters

How COVID-19 is upending global food supply chains

Cows fed strawberries in India, watermelons rot in U.S., okra not reaching Canada

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Satara/Singapore/London | Reuters — In the fertile Satara district in western India, farmers are putting their cattle on an unorthodox diet: Some feed iceberg lettuce to buffalo. Others feed strawberries to cows. It’s not a treat. They can either feed their crops to animals or let them spoil. And other farmers are doing just that […] Read more
CME April 2020 lean hogs with Bollinger (20,2) bands. (Barchart)
Livestock, Markets, Reuters

U.S. livestock: Hog futures hit 17-1/2-year low

Cattle also sink as virus measures disrupt markets

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Chicago | Reuters — U.S. hog futures fell on Friday to the lowest point since late 2002 on tumbling pork prices and slowing slaughter rates as measures to control the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic shuttered schools and restaurants and sent U.S. unemployment rates soaring. Cattle futures also dropped as wholesale beef and cash feedlot cattle prices […] Read more
File photo of hogs in transit near Red Deer, Alta. (Stefonlinton/iStock/Getty Images)
Hogs, Livestock, Markets

Canada’s pork sector up to speed, aware of challenges

Processing plants enhancing biosecurity; producers being urged to watch their stress levels

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They’re adding protective plexiglass shields, bringing in trailers to separate groups of workers, and boosting communication on biosecurity. It’s all part of an ongoing effort to ensure pork processing plants aren’t disrupted by COVID-19. “I’m very impressed by our packers, and for the workers for coming to work every day and being there and realizing […] Read more
(Dave Bedard photo)
Dairy Cattle, Livestock

Pandemic planning leads to staff cuts at Agropur

Dairy co-operative enters 'business continuity' mode

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Dairy co-operative Agropur’s “business continuity” plan against the COVID-19 pandemic calls for job cuts and layoffs for about three per cent of its total workforce. Longueuil, Que.-based Agropur announced Thursday it will eliminate 60 positions and temporarily lay off another 200 employees, all from its Canadian operations. In the “unprecedented context” of COVID-19, Agropur said […] Read more
(Photo courtesy Canada Beef Inc.)
Livestock

Alberta’s provincial meat inspectors to train for federal duty

Provincial inspectors to be seconded to CFIA-inspected packers

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Provincial meat inspectors in Alberta could soon be seconded to federally inspected packing plants under a new work-sharing arrangement between the province and Canadian Food Inspection Agency. The federal and Alberta governments announced Wednesday they would partner to “increase food inspector capacity” in the province and thus “ensure the continuous operation of Alberta’s food supply […] Read more
Detail from the front of the CBOT building in Chicago. (Vito Palmisano/iStock/Getty Images)
Crops, Markets

CBOT weekly outlook: Pandemic drives Chicago prices lower

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MarketsFarm — The COVID-19 pandemic has continued to pressure U.S. markets, including the Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT), according to Scott Capinegro, president of Barrington Commodities at Barrington, Ill. “It’s like that movie Groundhog Day. You wake up and it’s the same thing every day,” Capinegro said. There’s a domino effect in the grain industry […] Read more
Beef cattle feeding in Ontario. (DebraLee Wiseberg/iStock/Getty Images)
Finishers, Livestock, Markets

COVID-19 strains already-battered Ontario beef industry

Limited processing capacity remains financial challenge for province's feedlot sector, despite recent increase in retail demand

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Ontario’s beef industry was already in the midst of an economic crisis, but COVID-19 is worsening the financial toll on the province’s cattle feeders. Due to extremely limited processing plant capacity, an uncompetitive market and disruptions to trade and market access, Ontario’s beef industry was losing an average of more than $2 million per week […] Read more

Canadian Cattlemen Presents: Depth of Field

Glacier Farmmedia Podcast

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AGCanadaTV: In case you missed it; your national ag news recap for August 1, 2025

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