Reading Time: 2 minutes Chicago | Reuters – U.S. live cattle futures stretched to 5-1/2-month highs on Friday, lifted by strong cash cattle and beef prices and positioning ahead of a monthly cattle supply report. Cash cattle at southern U.S. Plains feedlot markets traded around $110 per cwt or more this week, up from an average of $108 last […] Read more
U.S. livestock: Live cattle rally to 5-1/2 month peak on firm cash cattle, beef prices
U.S. livestock: Lean hogs sink on weak cash market
Reading Time: 2 minutes Chicago | Reuters – U.S. lean hog futures fell for the sixth time in seven sessions on Thursday, pressured by weak cash hog prices and disappointing export data that showed minimal new sales of U.S. pork to China. Ample supplies of hogs and higher average slaughter weights have swelled pork supplies while demand from China, […] Read more
Klassen: Feeder market experiences bouncing behaviour
Reading Time: 2 minutes Compared to last week, western Canadian yearling markets traded $2-$4 higher on average; calves traded $2 to as much as $6 higher. The feeder market has recovered after a softer tone earlier in October. Favourable weather in southern Alberta over the past week caused Lethbridge-area feedlots to step forward more aggressively, especially in the lighter […] Read more
Cargill suspends shifts at Kansas beef plant after explosion
Reading Time: < 1 minute Chicago | Reuters — Cargill said Thursday it had suspended some shifts at its Dodge City, Kansas beef-packing plant after an explosion injured two employees. Cargill spokesman Daniel Sullivan said the company expects the facility to be fully operational soon and that it would meet all it customer commitments. The company is investigating the cause […] Read more
Klassen: Limited harvest progress weighs on feeder cattle
Reading Time: 2 minutes Compared to last week, western Canadian feeder cattle markets were down $2 to as much as $8 in some cases. A fortuitous bounce in the barley market resulted in a softer tone for replacement cattle. It appears that the Canadian barley crop will be smaller than earlier anticipated and some of the crop will likely […] Read more
Klassen: Adverse weather tempers feeder market
Reading Time: 2 minutes Compared to last week, western Canadian feeder cattle markets traded $3-$5 lower. Excessive snow in Alberta and ongoing rains across Manitoba and Saskatchewan set a negative tone. The market appeared to incorporate a risk discount, although many auction barns had limited numbers on offer. Buyers once again focused on local cattle and avoided transportation over […] Read more
New meat recall prolongs Ryding-Regency shutdown
Reading Time: < 1 minute Ryding-Regency Meat Packers remains shut down, making an already tight processing capacity situation event more challenging for Ontario farmers. The Toronto company, along with St. Ann’s Food, announced a recall Tuesday of a long list of its products because of concerns with E. coli O157:H7. More products were added to the recall on Thursday. The […] Read more
Klassen: Yearling prices remain firm
Reading Time: 2 minutes Compared to last week, western Canadian yearling markets were relatively unchanged with the exception of southern Alberta where 800-plus-lb. feeders traded $5 to as much as $8 higher. Strength in deferred live cattle futures and weakness in barley prices were the main factors driving demand in the Lethbridge area. The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s bullish […] Read more
McDonald’s reiterates beef support during Beyond Meat test-drive
Reading Time: 3 minutes The world’s biggest burger chain has aimed to reassure Canadian beef producers that its trial run of a plant-based burger doesn’t mark a retreat from the company’s primary protein. McDonald’s CEO John Betts, in a statement issued Friday directly to “our valued partners in the beef industry,” said he wants beef producers “to hear from […] Read more
Major veal processor launches new brand, non-GMO label
Reading Time: 2 minutes Quebec veal, lamb and beef processor Delimax-Montpak is set to launch a new consumer brand across Canada featuring what it bills as the only GMO-free milk-fed veal on the market. The company said Tuesday it expected to have the new brand — Fontaine Family, named for the company’s founding family — available via “most major […] Read more
A message from April Stewart, Country Guide's Associate Editor
