Britain tightens beef exports from N. Ireland

Britain has restricted beef exports coming from farms in Northern Ireland that received contaminated animal feed from Ireland, and confirmed that no pigs were affected, European Union officials said Dec. 10. British authorities had blocked beef shipments from nine pig and cattle farms and were carrying out extra tests to see if any Northern Irish

Trade touted as cattle industry’s salvation

“We’ve always made our living in the marketplace.” – brad wildeman, cca Increased trade is the solution to the Canadian cattle industry’s economic woes, Manitoba cattle producers were told last week. The Manitoba Cattle Producers Association annual meet ing heard a rous ing endorsement of global trade and free enterprise as an answer to the


Winnipeg beef plant gets new corporate structure

“If they can make it work, great. We’re in favour of it.” – Martin Unrau, MCPA Manitoba’s newest beef processing project has a new name and a new corporate structure. Natural Prairie Beef Inc. and the Manitoba Cattle Enhancement Council are joining hands to form Keystone Processors Ltd., which will kill cattle and process beef



New Manitoba food product served up

One unexpected offer that came up at this year’s Manitoba Grazing School was the chance to taste a new beef sausage. Not listed on the 2008 agenda, the Saskatoon Breakfast Sausage nonetheless made an appearance Nov. 25 when plates of the fresh-cooked i tem were pas sed around to the hundreds of participants during lunch

Federal action urged to reopen beef markets

Canada’s livestock producers, fed up with international trade barriers, want the federal government to do much more to open up foreign markets for their products. A new industry report recommends 25 steps for Ottawa to take in gaining greater access for Canada’s agricultural exports, especially beef. That includes creating a separate bureaucracy for negotiating international


Cattle producers earn less than their ancestors

Canadian cow-calf and feeder operators are receiving only half as much for their cattle as their parents and grandparents did, according to a new study. And it’s mainly because of powerful packers and an overdependence on the U. S. export market, the study by the National Farmers Union concludes. The report, released on the eve



South America’s meat packers battle sales slump

A downturn in beef orders is forcing meat packers in South American ranching countries to sell shipments off cheap and make workers take early holidays. Early this year, things looked rosy for beef exporters in Argentina, Uruguay and Paraguay, but with Russian importers struggling to get credit and Europeans cutting down on expensive steaks, sales

No beef deal yet with Korea

Officials from South Korea are scheduled to come to Canada this month and visit beef slaughterhouses as Korea reconsiders its five-year-old ban on Canadian beef and cattle. The Koreans’ visit will allow them “to see first hand the effectiveness of Canada’s food safety and animal health safeguards,” the Canadian government said Nov. 10. Korea’s ports