The dairy cattle traceability system mandates white tags, but with more dairy cattle crossbreds moving into beef, there’s confusion about tag colours.

Are white ear tags shortchanging beef-on-dairy calves?

Are beef-on-dairy calf prices suffering because of their ear tags compared to what beef calves fetch at auction?

Are beef-on-dairy calf prices suffering compared to what beef calves fetch at auction because of their ear tags? Beef-on-dairy animals must be fitted with white DairyTrace tags, even if they’re bound for the meat market.



Photo: Canada Beef

Maritime beef producers get price protection

Two-year pilot gives Maritime producers an equivalent program to the rest of the country

Producers in New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island, and soon Nova Scotia, will have access to a program that will allow them to purchase insurance on price protection for their beef cattle in case of an unforeseen market disruption.

“There’s no doubt that cash flow has been extremely tight in the industry, especially after the drought last year, there’s not a huge appetite to be buying in at current prices when everything is just so fresh.” – Tyler Fulton, Manitoba Beef Producers.

Cattle crunch: Tug of war on herd rebuilding prospects

Better prices mean a better outlook for the cattle sector, but will that be enough for producers who feel like they’ve had enough?

It was a tough spring, coming off a tough winter, coming off an even tougher drought year in 2021, but there is finally pay off in the sales ring for cattle producers. Tyler Fulton, president of the Manitoba Beef Producers, estimates that local calf prices are 30 to 50 cents per pound higher than at


Consumers can expect higher beef prices into 2023 and 2024, market watchers say.

Shrinking U.S. cattle herd signals more pain from high beef prices

Consumers won’t be seeing any relief at the till due to long production cycle

Reuters – U.S. consumers grappling with soaring inflation face more pain from high beef prices as ranchers reduce their cattle herds due to drought and lofty feed costs. Those decisions will tighten livestock supplies for years, economists said. The decline in cattle numbers, combined with stiff costs for other production expenses, illustrate why a recent reduction in grain prices

U.S. beef price-fixing investigation proposed

U.S. senators, Elizabeth Warren and Mike Rounds on May 19 introduced a bipartisan resolution asking the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to investigate beef companies for potential price-fixing. It is the latest effort by politicians to hold meat companies accountable for high food prices, which critics blame in part on U.S. beef production being controlled by


U.S. beef pricing bill on Canadian radar

U.S. beef pricing bill on Canadian radar

The Canadian sector says U.S. packer competition and price discovery are good for cattle producers north of the border

The United States is pondering federal legislation to boost competition among beef packers and improve cattle price discovery, and the Canadian cattle industry is watching closely. “Producers in general, but more specifically cattle and beef producers on both sides of the border, crave better price transparency and price discovery,” Manitoba Beef Producers president Tyler Fulton

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Quebec group seeks to sue beef packers over pricing

Group's class-action application alleges price-fixing dating back to 2015

A Quebec consumer protection group intends to launch a class action lawsuit against four major beef processors in Canada and the U.S., alleging a “meat pricing conspiracy.” “At a time of high inflation, it is unacceptable to make the price of beef even more expensive than it already is,” Sylvie De Bellefeuille, a lawyer for


The number of breeding cows in the U.S. has dropped by a million head, which is one of the factors that’s been driving wholesale beef prices higher.

Cattle producers struggle but beef suppliers are doing just fine

Wholesale beef prices at record levels but those strong prices haven’t made their way to producers

Glacier FarmMedia – The good news is that beef prices are extremely strong, even in the face of record beef production in North America. “We have record-high wholesale beef prices right now,” CANFAX manager and senior analyst Brian Perillat said at the recent (and virtual) Canadian Beef Industry Conference. Unfortunately, cattle prices are just not