Economic gloom hits U.S. live cattle futures

chicago / reuters / U.S. live cattle futures fell to a 2-1/2-month low the last week in September in a broad-based sell-off sparked by renewed concerns about the global economy that led to safe-haven investing in the dollar at the expense of other investments such as cattle, traders and analysts said. “It’s a technical meltdown

Maple Leaf searching for hog suppliers

Fears of a worldwide bacon shortage are overblown, but local processors are searching for new hog suppliers even as some producers cut their losses and depopulate their barns. “Unfortunately, there will be some producers who do exit this industry,” said Jason Manness, director of procurement for Maple Leaf Foods. “As a result, we are currently


Canada Beef: Celebrating first birthday

So far, so good. That seemed to be the mood as 150 industry players recently gathered to mark Canada Beef Inc.’s first birthday. “We learned a lot on the fly,” said president Rob Meijer. “I think structurally our business plan and vision is sound. It probably holds stronger today than a year ago when we

Canada beef warning broadened to new products

Reuters / A public warning in Canada about beef possibly tainted with E. coli has been updated to include additional products. The Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) released a list of dozens of products Sept. 30 made from beef voluntarily recalled by XL Foods, whose plant in Brooks, Alberta, was temporarily shut by the agency





Beef industry at a crossroads

A decade after rebounding strongly from the 2003 BSE crisis, Canada’s beef sector is stuck in a competitive rut with no clear idea of how to get out it, says a report prepared by the Canadian Agriculture Policy Institute (CAPI). The world market for beef has changed in the last 10 years, says the report,

The swiner things in life are fried

Jerry Aulenbach, a real estate agent from Edmonton, is so enthusiastic about smoked pork belly that he now spends his spare time dressed as a bacon strip. “I had the bacon suit made for Halloween, but I never really wore it out. I got the idea to wear it to fundraisers and other events, and