(Photo courtesy Canada Beef Inc.)

Cattle prices will see big rise

Prime Cuts with Steve Kay

At time of writing, this year is only two months old and already 2022 is shaping up to be a much better year for North American cattle producers. Forecasts are for higher prices for all classes of cattle in Canada and the U.S., especially as the cattle/beef sectors in both countries shake off the impact […] Read more

Daily slaughter capacity at the U.S.’s 30 largest beef processors slightly increased in 2021 from the previous year.

Beef industry faces packer fallacies

Prime Cuts with Steve Kay

Misinformation and even disinformation are not new to the U.S. beef industry. It’s fascinating, though, how the onset and impact of the coronavirus pandemic amplified the claims of critics of the industry, especially those of the beef processing sector. Most critics claim the “Big Four” packers control more than 80 per cent of the U.S. […] Read more


Any legislation calling for harsh mandates regarding the current cattle price situation will just lead to unintended costs and consequences for all producers.

Beware of government “help”

Prime Cuts with Steve Kay

The government is here to help you. How many times have you heard that expression and reeled at what that help might mean? This is what the U.S. beef industry is facing in light of calls by U.S. lawmakers to demand government mandates on required minimum negotiated cash markets for live cattle. Some members of […] Read more

The high price of beef forced retail sales to slow significantly in September.

Christmas cheer without prime rib

Prime Cuts with Steve Kay

Adorning the Christmas dinner table with a succulent beef rib roast is a longstanding tradition for meat lovers in the U.S. and, I daresay, in Canada as well. But American consumers, at least this year, might have to forego this hugely popular holiday item for a lower-priced cut. This is because wholesale rib prices are […] Read more


Drought and searing heat have had a severe impact on feed crops such as corn, wheat and soybeans.

Drought rears its ugly head

Prime Cuts with Steve Kay

BSE cases and E.Coli O 157:H7 recalls have roiled the North American beef industry over the past 25 years. But neither have had more of a long-running impact on the industry as drought. Severe to extreme drought conditions have now returned to much of the western half of the continent and are having an impact […] Read more

Meat packers face labour crisis

Meat packers face labour crisis

Prime Cuts with Steve Kay

American beef processors and possibly those in Canada face a labour shortage that might be the worst in the two countries’ history. Ironically, U.S. beef processing margins are record large for this time of year. But labour constraints mean slaughter levels are lower than they should be to handle the available supply of fed cattle. […] Read more


A new US$325 million beef-processing plant planned for southwest Iowa will process 1,500 head per day and is expected to employ 750 people once it begins operation in late 2023.

For beef processors, the buck stops here

Prime Cuts with Steve Kay

As beef producers in Western Canada know only too well, opening a new beef processing plant is the easy part. Running it at an eventual profit is an entirely different matter. Maybe the producers who invested in the ill-fated Rancher’s Beef plant in Balzac, Alta., should talk with the producers who are investing in two […] Read more

A new bill introduced in Congress directs the U.S. Trade Representative and USDA’s Ag Secretary Tom Vilsack to find some way to re-impose mCOOL labelling.

China takes a liking to U.S. beef

Prime Cuts with Steve Kay

Chinese consumers are rapidly taking a liking to U.S. beef. China reopened its market to the U.S. in February last year after a Phase One deal between the two countries removed nearly all the technical barriers that had prevented most U.S. beef from entering China. Volume was tiny for several months but began to pick […] Read more


Photo: Canada Beef Inc.

Beef plant essentials

Prime Cuts with Steve Kay

It is never easy to build a new beef processing plant, let alone operate it successfully. Just ask the group of cattle industry investors who sunk $40 million into a brand new plant near Balzac in Alberta. The plant opened to great fanfare in 2006 but closed just 14 months later because of tight margins […] Read more

A beef-industry worker grades a carcass. Canada and the U.S. produce the highest-quality beef in the world and more than any other nation.

North America’s high-quality beef

Prime Cuts with Steve Kay

The Canadian and U.S. beef industries have much in common. In fact, their markets for both cattle and beef are more highly integrated than anywhere else in the world. They have another thing in common that no other beef-producing country has. They produce the highest-quality beef in the world and more than any other nation.  […] Read more