Federal International Trade Diversification Minister Jim Carr speaks at the China-Canada economic and financial strategy dialogue in Beijing on Nov. 12, 2018. (Photo: Reuters/Jason Lee/Pool)

Canada says bogus certificates being used to smuggle meat into China

Reading Time: 2 minutes Ottawa | Reuters — Unknown actors are using bogus certificates to smuggle Canadian meat into China, Trade Minister Jim Carr said on Wednesday, a day after Beijing halted beef and pork imports citing falsified paperwork. China, which has already blocked imports of Canadian canola seed and product from three pork plants, said on Tuesday it […] Read more

File photo of cattle on Prince Edward Island. (COSPV/iStock/Getty Images)

P.E.I. to manage deadstock removal

Reading Time: < 1 minute Prince Edward Island’s latest provincial operating budget calls for its agriculture and land department to directly manage removal of deadstock for dairy and beef cattle producers. Finance Minister Darlene Compton’s 2019-20 operating budget, presented Tuesday, said the province will take over management of the deadstock contract “to reduce the administrative burden placed on the dairy […] Read more



(Photo courtesy Canada Beef Inc.)

Klassen: Feeder market shrugs off feed grain rally

Reading Time: 2 minutes Compared to last week, western Canadian feeder cattle prices were $2-$5 higher on average. Noted strength was in the 700-plus-lb. categories, which spilt over into the lighter calves. Quality groups of yearlings were limited and the scarcity fear factor had a grip on the market. The U.S. Department of Agriculture lowered its fourth-quarter beef production […] Read more


A drone captured this file photo of cattle on pasture in Brazil’s Mato Grosso state. (JoseMoraes/iStock/Getty Images)

Brazil lifts suspension of beef exports to China

Reading Time: < 1 minute Sao Paulo | Reuters — Brazil’s government said Thursday it has lifted a suspension of beef exports to China after dealing with an atypical case of BSE, sending shares of Marfrig Global Foods, Minerva and other Brazilian meatpackers soaring. The suspension had been in effect since June 3 after a case was reported in a […] Read more

(Photo courtesy Canada Beef Inc.)

Klassen: Feeder cattle demand softens

Reading Time: 2 minutes Compared to last week, western Canadian yearling prices were $2-$4 lower on average while calves were down $3-$5 depending on the region. Weakness in the fed cattle market continues to spill over into the feeder complex, as margins drift further into red ink. Alberta packers were buying fed cattle in the range of $245-$246 delivered […] Read more



A Western blot analysis, used to confirm BSE in bovine brain tissue. (Peggy Greb photo courtesy ARS/USDA)

Brazil halts beef exports to China after atypical BSE case

Reading Time: < 1 minute Sao Paulo | Reuters — Brazil has temporarily halted beef exports to China following an atypical case of BSE in leading farm state Mato Grosso, the agriculture ministry said on Monday. China, Brazil’s largest beef importer by sales, spent US$1.5 billion on Brazilian beef last year, totaling 322,400 tonnes or almost 20 per cent of […] Read more


Tuberculosis bacteria under an electron microscope. (Janice Haney Carr photo courtesy Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (U.S.))

B.C. bovine TB outbreak’s trace-out completed

Reading Time: 2 minutes All cattle that moved away from a British Columbia farm where four animals were found to be infected with bovine tuberculosis (TB) have been tracked down and tested. The Canadian Food Inspection Agency said Tuesday it has completed its “trace-out” investigation stemming from last fall’s discovery of a TB-positive beef cow from a farm in […] Read more

A drone captured this file photo of cattle on pasture in Brazil’s Mato Grosso state. (JoseMoraes/iStock/Getty Images)

Brazil reports atypical BSE case

Reading Time: < 1 minute Sao Paulo | Reuters — The Brazilian government reported on Friday a case of atypical bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) in an animal in Mato Grosso state, according to a statement from the country’s agriculture ministry. The ministry said the case of BSE, also known as mad cow disease, was detected in a 17-year-old cow. It […] Read more