A grazing plan that matches animal numbers to predicted forage yields should be made before turn out.

Making the most of available forage

Start the grazing season with a plan and lower cost of production over time

Developing a grazing plan is an important first step to ensure effective grazing management on an operation, and it can help save a producer on cost of production in the long run. A grazing plan that matches animal numbers to predicted forage yields should be made before turn out. Several key steps should be included:

(Photo courtesy Canada Beef Inc.)

Klassen: Fed market supports feeder complex

Strength in loonie tempers market upside

For the week ending Saturday, western Canadian yearlings over 800 lbs. were relatively unchanged. Feeder cattle in the range of 600-700 lbs. were up $4-$8/cwt. The market was hard to define for feeder cattle under 600 lbs. due to limited numbers. Prices for quality calves were unchanged from seven days earlier while straggler types were


CME August 2023 live cattle with 20- and 100-day moving averages and October 2023 live cattle (black line). (Barchart)

U.S. livestock: Live cattle weak on large May placements

Slowing beef demand also a factor

Chicago | Reuters — Chicago Mercantile Exchange live cattle futures ended flat to lower on Monday on larger-than-expected feedlot placements in May and expectations for slower demand for beef for outdoor grilling following the U.S. Independence Day holiday. Sharply higher feed corn prices early in Monday’s trading session weighed on the live and feeder cattle

A chicken salad featuring Upside Foods’ cell-cultivated meat. (UpsideFoods.com)

U.S. regulator allows first sales of lab-grown meat

Products to go first to high-end restaurants

Washington | Reuters — Two companies, Upside Foods and Good Meat, said on Wednesday they have received final U.S. Department of Agriculture approval to sell lab-grown meat, paving the way for the nation’s first-ever sales of the product. With the approvals, the U.S. will become the second country after Singapore to allow the sale of


CME August 2023 feeder cattle with 30-, 40- and 50-day moving averages. (Barchart)

U.S. livestock: Feeder cattle rally as corn prices sag

Live cattle, lean hogs down

Chicago | Reuters — CME Group feeder cattle contracts rallied on Friday, their second day of gains, as weakening corn prices cut into feed costs and boosted profit margins at packers. Hog futures were weaker on follow-through selling after Thursday’s sharp decline. The August CME feeder cattle contract gained 3.275 cents, to 233.95 cents/lb., rising

CME August 2023 live cattle with 10-, 20- and 50-day moving averages. (Barchart)

U.S. livestock: Cattle futures rise, hogs fall

Feeder cattle back in Bollinger range

Chicago | Reuters — Chicago Mercantile Exchange feeder cattle futures firmed on Thursday, rebounding from a sharp decline a day earlier on support from weakness in the corn market. Live cattle futures also closed higher but hog contracts weakened, extending a sell-off that started on Wednesday as traders said the market remained technically overbought. Analysts


“If we get to the point that we have to use regulations to enforce [it], it’s not working.” – Cam Dahl, Manitoba Pork Council.

Pork sector has new playbook against PED

The Manitoba Pork Council’s new PED elimination plan relies on surveillance, biosecurity and aggressive action, but leaves room for farms to tailor responses

Manitoba Pork’s new plan to combat porcine epidemic diarrhea, or PED, relies on disease surveillance, ‘wartime’ biosecurity, heavy crackdowns on infected farms and producer co-operation to eliminate the virus from the province. “The long-term impacts of a major PED outbreak every other year is not sustainable,” the plan document says. The pork council posted the

CME August 2023 feeder cattle with Bollinger bands (20,2; right scale) and CBOT September 2023 corn (orange line, left scale). (Barchart)

U.S. livestock: Feeder cattle down as corn extends rally

Hogs end lower off early gains

Chicago | Reuters — Chicago Mercantile Exchange feeder cattle futures eased on Wednesday, with surging corn prices expected to boost feeding costs in the coming weeks, traders said. But live cattle contracts were close to unchanged. Hog futures fell from a nine-month high on a round of profit-taking, with the most-active August contract snapping a


This seven-year-old red mare in southern Alberta was bought just above slaughter price in May.

The ‘rescue’ horse

Horse Health: With the proper approach, rescue horses can prosper and be public ambassadors for horse care

Rescue horses bring great awareness to equine welfare and serve as powerful reminders of the significance of responsible horse ownership. Like equine ambassadors, they provide valuable feedback and insights into the industry. These horses showcase the powerful outcomes that can be achieved when their fundamental needs change from absent to fulfilled. The term “rescue horse”

Olymel’s Drummondville, Que. bacon plant.(Drumco.ca)

Olymel bacon plant deal a ‘signal,’ union says

Deal ends three-week strike at Drummondville

Unionized workers at Olymel’s bacon processing plant at Drummondville, Que. have voted to accept a four-year deal, ending a three-week strike and serving as a “signal” to employers in the region, their union said. Olymel announced Friday that CSN-represented workers at the Bacon Inter-America facility, who’d been on strike since May 26, voted 93.6 per