Ottawa Offers $6 Million For Beef Research

“The politics of market access often demand ministerial intervention to get over the hurdles presented.” The federal government is making $6 million available to boost research on beef cattle nutrition and productivity, Agriculture Minister Gerry Ritz told the Canadian Cattlemen’s Association March 22. The research will encourage “Canadian breakthroughs that make the farm gate more

U. S. Cattle Herd Smallest In Seven Years

The U. S. feedlot cattle supply is the smallest in seven years, the U. S. Agriculture Department reported March 19, confirming trade forecasts. Contraction of the U. S. cattle herd has helped lift cattle prices to their highest level since late 2008. The cattle supply has decreased because producers have lost money for nearly two


Cattle Set 16-Month High On Strong Technicals

Cattle futures at the Chicago Mercantile Exchange set a new 16-month high March 9 in the active April contract on a mix of technical and fundamental factors. Cash beef prices are the highest in nearly 10 months due to less production and improving demand. Investors also are buying cattle futures amid concerns rain and melting

Canada Says BSE Cow Kept Out Of Food Supply

The Alberta beef cow that is Canada’s most recent case of mad cow disease was found dead on a farm and was destroyed without entering food or animal feed supplies, a spokesman with the Canadian government said March 11. Canada Beef Export Federation president Ted Haney, who first confirmed the case in an interview with


Restricted-Feed Intake In Heifers Makes Better Cows

“When you develop a heifer on a restricted-gain program, you change the metabolic efficiency of that heifer and the way it utilizes feed and stores energy reserves.” – JOHN POPP Just as too many cooks can spoil the broth, it seems too much feed makes for less efficient heifers. Using a similar strategy to that

Federal Beef-Packing Assistance Welcomed

“These measures address a real threat to the long-term profitability of the Canadian cattle industry.” – BRAD WILDEMAN Packers and cattle groups say assistance announced in the federal budget will make their sector more competitive. The budget allocated an extra $10 million for the Slaughter Improvement Program, $25 million for packing plants that handle animals



Cattle Cycle Has Bottomed Out, Says Wright

“Miraculously, in the last year, producers have found every record they had since March of 1999, and are age verifying cows at an alarming rate.” – RICK WRIGHT Cow-calf producers take heart, better times may be on the way. A mass sell-off of cattle around the world driven by years of low prices has finally


The Wedge Effect

If recent reports are any indication, a growing number of consumers want to feel good about the food they eat – even if it means paying more for it. For example, a recent Context Marketing survey of consumers in the San Francisco Bay area found that 70 per cent of the respondents said they would

U. S. Cattle Prices To Improve

Slaughter and feeder cattle values in the U. S. should see some improvement over the next two years, although strong feed grain prices and competition from other protein sources may limit the profitability, said analyst James Robb, of the Colorado-based Livestock Marketing Information Center, or LMIC, in a presentation at the Canadian Wheat Board’s annual