Reading Time: 3 minutes U.S. President Donald Trump’s remarks Tuesday about imports of live cattle into the United States resonated predictably among that country’s various cattle producer groups. At a White House event Tuesday, flanked by U.S. farm and ranch leaders and Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue for a multi-billion-dollar COVID-19-related farm aid announcement, Trump said he “read yesterday where […] Read more
President’s cattle call finds expected marks in U.S.
Trump suggests killing trade pacts with unnamed cattle-exporting nations
Trump floats halt to U.S. cattle imports as pandemic hurts ranchers
'We have a lot of cattle in this country'
Reading Time: 3 minutes Washington/Chicago | Reuters — U.S. President Donald Trump said on Tuesday the United States should consider terminating trade deals under which it imports cattle as he looks to help U.S. ranchers hit hard by the coronavirus outbreak. The United States imports cattle from Mexico and Canada to supplement domestic supplies at lower prices and to […] Read more
Klassen: Feeder market jumps on renewed optimism
Weekly slaughter pace improving
Reading Time: 2 minutes Compared to last week, western Canadian feeder cattle over 800 lbs. traded $8-$10 higher while lighter weight categories were up $4 to as much as $12 in some cases. Feeder cattle under 800 lbs. were very well bid across the Prairies; feeder cattle under 700 lbs. are now trading at prices similar to late February, […] Read more
WLPIP calf price insurance deadline extended
Three-week extension includes nine purchasing days
Reading Time: 2 minutes Cattle producers in the western provinces will get extra decision-making time this year on the calf price insurance available through Western Livestock Price Insurance (WLPIP). The Prairies’ Crown ag insurance corporations announced Thursday that the deadline to buy WLPIP calf price insurance for 2020 has been extended to June 18. The new deadline, reset from […] Read more
Saskatchewan to adjust WLPIP premiums for producers
Province also opts in to fund AgriRecovery set-aside plan
Reading Time: 2 minutes The Saskatchewan government plans to temporarily subsidize livestock producers entering the Western Livestock Price Insurance Program (WLPIP) against its recent jump in program premium costs. The province on Thursday announced it will provide $5 million to “partially offset” WLPIP premiums, which it noted have risen “significantly” since the end of February this year on COVID-19-induced […] Read more
More Mexican beef headed to U.S. dinner tables as supply crunch bites
"I think we're going to leap past Canada this year"
Reading Time: 3 minutes Mexico City/Chicago | Reuters — More Mexican steaks and other beef cuts are headed north of the border after the coronavirus outbreak has hobbled U.S. meat processing plants, potentially offsetting fears of shortages affecting businesses from fast-food chains to grocery stores but angering U.S. ranchers. The Mexican industry chalks up the export growth to new […] Read more
Klassen: Feeder market banks on fed cattle recovery
Reading Time: 2 minutes Compared to last week, western Canadian yearling prices were $4 higher to $4 lower, with the exception of southern Alberta where quality packages were unchanged to $6 higher. Calves and grass cattle traded $2 lower to as much as $5 higher. Certain auctions in Western Canada reported calves trading $4 to as much as $8 […] Read more
Klassen: Yearlings trade lower, calves ratchet higher
Reading Time: 2 minutes Compared to last week, western Canadian yearling prices were $4-$6 lower; mid-weight feeder cattle traded $2 higher to $4 lower. Lighter calves and grassers were quite variable. In Alberta, these cattle ranged from unchanged to as much as $8 higher on average while in the eastern Prairie regions, calves traded $4 lower to $4 higher. […] Read more
Cargill’s High River plant reopens with two slaughter shifts
Cutting line to resume Wednesday
Reading Time: 2 minutes Cargill’s southern Alberta beef packing plant, estimated to be responsible for over a third of Canada’s beef processing capacity, restarted Monday after a two-week COVID-19-related shutdown — but at a quicker pace than previously expected. The company said in a statement Monday it is resuming operations at the High River plant “with two shifts” in […] Read more
COVID-19 surges at reopened JBS Colorado beef plant, union says
A sixth worker has died, UFCW local chief says
Reading Time: 2 minutes Chicago | Reuters — COVID-19 cases at a JBS meatpacking plant in Colorado have more than doubled “in a number of days” and a sixth employee died of the virus, a union official said on Thursday, underscoring the risks of U.S. meat plants reopening. The beef plant at Greeley, about 65 km north of Denver, […] Read more
A message from April Stewart, Country Guide's Associate Editor
