Canada Beef Exports To Rise Slightly In 2010

Canadian beef exports will increase slightly this year despite the cattle industry’s decline, as exports to Mexico and Asia offset fewer shipments to the United States, a top export official said Feb. 18. Farmers and ranchers have downsized their herds of hogs and cattle to the smallest levels in more than a decade due to


In Brief… – for Feb. 18, 2010

Three-year plan: “Plan. Farm. Safety.” is the theme of a three-year Canadian Agricultural Safety campaign that will be launched March 11 at MacDon Industries. This year the campaign will promote “Plan” with safety walkabouts and planning for safety. In following years, the focus will be on implementation, documentation and training and on safety assessment, improvement

Some Advice For The Meat Industry

The real battle is for the hearts and minds of John Q. and Jill E. Public. And so far the industry has ended up with a black eye. If beef producers were to give advice to industry officials, what might they say? January is meeting month for agricultural producers, when industry officials and other experts


Livestock Sector Recovery Driven By Demand

The return of consumer confidence will be the key driver behind recovery in the livestock sector, an economist with the Food and Agricultural Policy Research Institute (FAPRI) says. “Tough times across the livestock sector can get better this year, but it will take demand, demand, demand,” Scott Brown told University of Missouri Extension livestock specialists.

Beef-Grading Agency Ready For Technology Leap

We have the technology, but now the question becomes how to put it to its best use. In the spring of 2008 the board of directors of the Canadian Beef Grading Agency (CBGA) set an admirable goal to have technology and objective measurement in place of today’s human and subjective graders by the year 2013.


Ethnic And Offshore Keys To Beef Demand

“Over time we select the ones that work and reject the ones that don’t.” – JAMES HERRING, TEXAS FEEDER Increasing demand for beef in both the domestic and export markets was a recurring theme at a panel on a future of the cattle industry at the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association here Jan. 28. “It always

Recession Slows Cattle Industry Recovery

“Until we see economic recovery, it’s going to be a challenge.” – SCOTT MCKINNON, CANFAX Canada’s long-suffering cattle producers, still smarting after BSE, may have to wait a little longer to start making money again. Cow-calf producers could start to see profitable margins by late fall. Feedlot operators may, too, depending on feed costs, said


COOL Leads To Branded Products

The mandatory country-of-origin labelling (COOL) requirements that now overshadow Canadian beef in U. S. retail meat cases are being leveraged in some regional-level stores to build “unique” store brands. The Beef Information Centre, a marketing and communications arm of the Canadian Cattlemen’s Association, said in a release Jan. 15 it has been working with U.

Killarney Slaughterhouse Reopening For Business

Nearly a year after fire seriously damaged Killarney’s government-licensed abattoir and closed it down, the facility is once again preparing to open for business. Killarney Meats, which previously operated under the ownership of butcher Brian Bernard, was sold a few months after a late-night fire erupted in the slaughterhouse coffee room during a frigid January