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


Man awarded $7.2 million in ‘popcorn lung’ lawsuit

Reuters / A U.S. Federal Court jury has awarded a Colorado man $7.2 million in damages for developing a chronic condition known as “popcorn lung” from a chemical used in flavouring microwave popcorn. Jurors agreed with the claims by Wayne Watson, 59, that the popcorn manufacturer and the supermarket chain that sold it were negligent

Hot, dry weather takes its toll on canola crop

Hot, dry weather took a larger toll on the Canadian canola crop than many industry participants expected. The latest Statistics Canada survey pegs canola production at 13.4 million tonnes, a two-million-tonne drop from its previous forecast and well below the 14.5 million tonnes grown in 2011-12. Although one Winnipeg-based broker said “the number was unexpected


Independent look at XL needed

Four years ago, the Harper government was mired in the Maple Leaf listeria crisis and sought to reassure voters in the upcoming federal election by appointing an independent inquiry into the deadly event. While the XL Foods E. coli incident has produced only four confirmed cases of illness compared to the 22 deaths and scores

CFIA officials reviewing XL procedures

The number of Canadian confirmed cases of E. coli from the XL beef plant at Brooks, Alta. had reached 11 by press time Monday. Meanwhile, the beef recall had spread from North America to Hong Kong. The Hong Kong Centre for Food Safety had advised local companies to stop selling and to recall “a small


Another record shattered as Manitoba soybean acreage soars

It’s no surprise why: Low production costs, high prices, 
improved varieties and availability of crop insurance is making “beans” a big money-maker

Manitoba farmers planted more soybeans in 2012 than ever before — but the record won’t last long. “If things go as planned, with a good spring and the seed supplies are there, I think reaching the million mark won’t be too difficult next year,” said Dennis Lange, a farm production adviser based in Altona. This



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