Livestock Markets & Farming Articles

Beef cattle, Livestock, Livestock Markets

BIXS carcass data available

By Daniel Winters March 25, 2013

Some ranchers are getting a taste of what national traceability  system has to offer in terms of finished beef

If you shipped age-verified calves that were slaughtered at one of the major plants in Canada after May 2010, there may be some interesting information waiting for you online. “There’s two million records in the system, so there’s a good chance you’ll have some in there,” said Marlin Beever, a rancher from Rivers who has

Beef cattle, International news, Livestock, Livestock Markets

Aussie beef exports to China on record pace

March 25, 2013

canberra / reuters /Australian beef sales to China are set to surge more than eightfold this year, to around 50,000 tonnes annually from about 6,000 tonnes a year ago. “In the last six months there has been a bigger jump in China’s beef imports from Australia because China blocked beef imports from Brazil due to

Livestock, Livestock Markets, News

Blizzards sock in some cattle auctions, but not all

By Phil Franz-Warkentin March 16, 2013

Blizzard conditions across much of southern Manitoba kept some auction marts closed and some buyers snowed in during the week ended March 8, but the late-winter storm also brought in some renewed optimism for feed supplies going forward. After seeing nearly 10,000 head of cattle move through the various markets across the province the previous

Hogs, Livestock, Livestock Markets

Prices, drought and trade dominate hog meeting

By Ron Friesen March 7, 2013

A severe drought in the United States and increased Chinese restrictions on pork imports are casting a long shadow over Manitoba’s beleaguered hog industry. The drought, which sent feed prices skyrocketing last year, continues in the U.S. Corn and Soybean Belt, despite improved precipitation this winter. More than half of the continental United States is

Beef cattle, Livestock, Livestock Markets

High feed costs, lower beef demand pressure prices

By Terryn Shiells March 7, 2013

Feeder cattle prices across Manitoba were starting to see a slight recovery during the week ended March 1, from the market’s “crash” in mid-February, but haven’t managed to move back to the levels that were seen prior to the fall. Prices weren’t able to climb back to pre-crash levels because feed costs are still extremely

Beef cattle, Livestock, Livestock Markets, Weather

U.S. plains feedlot cattle suffer in blizzard

By Sam Nelson March 7, 2013

Reuters / Cattle in the vast U.S. High Plains region were stressed by this week’s severe blizzard, leading to big weight losses and boosting Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) live cattle futures prices, feeders and livestock experts said on Feb. 27. The storm dumped up to 20 inches of wet snow in some areas, accompanied by

Hogs, Livestock, Livestock Markets, News

Heating up the COOL dispute

By Alex Binkley March 7, 2013

The Canadian Cattlemen’s Association and the Canadian Pork Council want Ottawa to up the pressure on Washington to end its discriminatory country-of-origin labelling regulations. The World Trade Organization has given the U.S. until May 23 to amend its COOL legislation or face retaliation from Canada and Mexico. “Canada still expects the U.S. to meet the

Hogs, Livestock, Livestock Markets, Oilseeds

China not yet seeking checks on Canada pork — minister

By Rod Nickel March 7, 2013

Reuters / China is not yet requiring a third-party review of Canadian pork imports to ensure they are free of the feed additive ractopamine, Canadian Agriculture Minister Gerry Ritz said Feb. 25. But Ritz said he expects China to require third-party verification of Canadian pork at some point, as it will require of U.S. pork

Livestock, Livestock Markets, Other livestock

U.S. sheep numbers resilient despite drought

By Tim Petry March 7, 2013

The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) released its annual “Sheep and Goats” inventory report on Feb. 1. According to the report, all sheep and lamb inventories in the U.S. on Jan. 1, 2013, totalled 5.34 million head, down just 0.6 per cent, or 30,000 head, from a year ago. Some sheep

Livestock, Livestock Markets

Forced government furloughs could cause meat shortages

March 7, 2013

Reuters / Americans should expect to experience spotty shortages of meat due to furloughs of food inspectors caused by federal budget cuts, but the government will stagger the layoffs to minimize the impact, Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack said Feb. 27. Automatic budget cuts began to take effect March 1 when the nation’s largest employer, the

Daily Network News

U.S. grains: Chicago grain prices fall amid profit-taking and dollar rebound

U.S. livestock: Cattle fall back as inventory hits 75-year low

Farm family income gains driven by off-farm earnings: StatCan

Livestock Markets