Klassen: Feeder cattle prices stabilize

Western Canadian feeder cattle prices found some footing this past week trading at similar levels to seven days earlier.  Auction market volumes consisted of stragglers and late bloomers with minimal numbers on offer; buyers on hand continue to promote the scarcity principle which caused the market to stabilize. Feedlots operators were quite aggressive on 800[...]

Livestock — Strong cash, pork prices lift CME hog futures

Chicago|Reuters -- Chicago Mercantile Exchange hog futures on Monday closed higher, supported by strong prices for slaughter-ready, or cash, hogs and wholesale pork values, traders said. Monday morning's average hog price in the Iowa/Minnesota market rose $2.58 per hundredweight (cwt) from Friday to $133.77, the U.S. Department of Agriculture said. USDA's data showed the morning's[...]


Panel's report likely to tie farm antibiotics to human resistance

Reuters — A White House advisory committee is expected to acknowledge the link between antimicrobial resistance in humans and livestock being fed antibiotics when it issues its report in the next few weeks, according to the transcript of a committee meeting held earlier this month. But how much of the public health problem can be[...]

Klassen: Strong domestic demand to curb feeder cattle exports

Fed cattle prices in Alberta reached record highs last week trading the range of $164/cwt to $165/cwt. Feedlot margins surged into positive territory, once again reinforcing the price structure for feeder cattle. It appears the fed cattle market is incorporating a risk premium due to the uncertainty in production. For the week ending July 18,[...]


Feed was 'most plausible' source of BSE in Case 19

Canada's food safety agency is still tracking down the last herdmates of the country's 19th domestic case of BSE, but will otherwise assume the Alberta cow most likely caught the disease from traces of proteins in its early feed. The Canadian Food Inspection Agency on Nov. 30 submitted its final report on Case 19 --[...]

Klassen: Various views on the feeder cattle market

If you talked to three Western Canadian cattle buyers this week, you probably would receive four different views on the market. Certain auction barns were reflecting an average week-over-week decline of $3 to $5 but feature strings of cattle were back up to historical high prices. Early sales in the season are like tryouts at a[...]


Klassen: Softer beef complex weighs on feeders

Western Canadian feeder cattle experienced a week-over-week decline of $3 to $6 on average. In central Alberta, the market appeared to hold value on larger strings of quality feeders but the market in all other regions of the Prairies appeared to lack buying enthusiasm. Alberta fed cattle prices were quoted in the range of $186[...]

U.S. sees El Nino as near-certain to last through summer

New York | Reuters -- The El Nino climate phenomenon is almost certain to last through the Northern Hemisphere summer, the U.S. weather forecaster said, raising the chance of heavy rain in the southern U.S. as well as South America, and scorching heat in Asia that could devastate crops of thirsty food staples like rice.[...]


Rain sprinkles Prairie canola fields, pastures

Winnipeg | Reuters -- Light rains sprinkled Western Canada's crops and pastures during the weekend, but amounts fell well short of what's needed to remedy dry conditions that have stunted growth, analysts said Monday. Rains were scattered across the Prairies and similar light amounts are expected during the next two weeks, Commodity Weather Group said[...]

Sask. to open protected grasslands for grazing

Crown-held native prairie and other grasslands held for wildlife conservation in Saskatchewan will be opened up to ranchers needing grazing land for cattle in dry areas. Environment Minister Herb Cox announced Tuesday the province will make about 90,000 acres of Fish and Wildlife Development Fund (FWDF) land available to cattle producers. The same grazing lease[...]