“Renewed Optimism” Boosts Demand For Grass Cattle

Mov e -ment o f cattle to the auction yards in Manitoba declined during the week ended April 1. The closure of a number of auction yards because of the Good Friday and Easter holiday long weekend was tied to the lower marketings. Values for the cattle held steady, with strong demand for grass cattle

Loose Sow Housing No Panacea, Producers Say

“Removing a crate from the barn has a huge ripple effect.” – MARG REMPEL, STE. ANNE PRODUCER Mention activists who oppose sow gestation stalls and Marg Rempel gets so frustrated she can hardly talk. It isn’t just anti-stall people who upset her. It’s their lack of knowledge about what eliminating gestation crates would really mean


The New Arrival — Care Of The Foal And Its Dam

CAROL SHWETZ DVM Producing a healthy foal begins long before labour. It starts with having a healthy mare. Healthy mares have healthy foals, and healthy foals have healthy mares. Exercise is an essential part of a healthy pregnancy – after all the uterus is a muscle too. One can reasonably ride a pregnant mare up

In Brief… – for Apr. 1, 2010

Fraud alert: An R. M. of De Salaberry man selling a vehicle was hoodwinked out of $1,500 by an overseas scam artist who sent a money-gram for more than the purchase price and requested a refund for the difference. Although the vendor waited until the payment had cleared the bank before complying, it was later


An Alternative Solution To The Cattle Crisis

I suggest we have been suckered into export dependency and are now trapped on a treadmill of keeping more cattle to make up for declining margins. Many people have been pondering the question of whether there is a future for beef production in Canada. We are continually told that there is light at the end

Lamb Prices Strengthen On Lower Supplies

Lamb prices have shown a strong seasonal price improvement during February and March. Prices at northern Plains markets for fed lambs have increased from about $100 per hundredweight (cwt) in early January to more than $120 per cwt in mid-March. The strength in prices was due to both lower supplies of lambs and stronger ethnic


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

Sheep & Goat Sales – for Mar. 25, 2010

Ewes $88.45 $184.90 Lambs 110 lbs.+ 95 110 lbs. 80 94 lbs. $144.90 $151.42 $121.13 $140.60 $131.75 $142.40 under 80 lbs. 70 79 lbs. 60 69 lbs. 50 59 lbs. $105.00 $128.44 $97.02 $103.50 $82.68 $97.02 There was a full house for the Winnipeg Livestock Auction, March 18, 2010. It could have been the result


Animal Welfare Activists Target Pig Castration

– Robyn Harte, MAFRI “It’s a recognized common practice in most of the world.” An animal welfare coalition is trying to end the practice of castrating male piglets by asking grocery stores in Canada to carry pork from intact pigs. “We politely ask you to take action and meet with your suppliers to discuss our

Heavier Weights Mean Lighter Prices

Ca t t l e marketings to auction yards in Manitoba held fairly steady during the week ended March 19, al though values for the heavier classes of animals weakened off. The Canadian dollar’s attempt to move to parity with the U. S. greenback was viewed as an undermining price influence. “During the previous week,