(USDA.gov via Flickr)

Klassen: Feeder cattle markets digest USDA inventory report

Reading Time: 2 minutes Western Canadian feeder cattle markets traded $5 higher to as much as $10 lower compared to week-ago levels. The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Cattle on Feed report, along with U.S. inventory data, confirmed larger beef supplies in upcoming months, which set a negative sentiment amongst feedlot operators. Auction markets experienced variable price ranges on similar-weight […] Read more


(Photo courtesy Canada Beef Inc.)

More BSE tests, no BSE seen in 2016

Reading Time: 2 minutes Canadian beef cattle producers handed over more samples in 2016 than in 2015 to be tested for BSE, turning up zero cases of the brain-wasting disease. The Canadian Cattlemen’s Association on Monday reported 27,346 samples were submitted to the national BSE surveillance program in 2016 — up four per cent from 26,285 in 2015, but […] Read more

(Photo courtesy Canada Beef Inc.)

Bovine TB probe’s focus turns to infected herd

Reading Time: 3 minutes With no new cases of bovine tuberculosis discovered on the Prairies since mid-November, federal officials are now turning their focus to how the disease got into half a dozen cattle in the region last fall. The Canadian Food Inspection Agency said Friday it has finished TB-screening and depopulating all mature cattle from 18 properties that […] Read more


(Photo courtesy Canada Beef Inc.)

Klassen: Fed cattle uncertainty restricts upside in feeders

Reading Time: 2 minutes Western Canadian feeder cattle were actively trading $3-$5 higher compared to week-ago levels. Order buyers felt like they were groping in the dark but realized there was a fair amount of buying interest by the week’s end. Alberta and Ontario orders were floating aggressively into Manitoba and eastern Saskatchewan, which kept the market flat across […] Read more

(Photo courtesy Canada Beef Inc.)

U.S. December feedlot cattle placements hit six-year high

Reading Time: 2 minutes Chicago | Reuters — U.S. feedlots brought in 18 per cent more cattle in December than the year-earlier month, the U.S. Department of Agriculture said on Friday, which topped forecasts and reached a six-year high for that month. Higher prices for slaughter-ready, or cash, cattle last month improved profit for feedlots. That allowed them to […] Read more


A+W, whose English Muffin Bacon + Egger is shown here, plans to go head to head against McDonald’s in offering all-day breakfast across Canada by the end of February. (CNW Group/A+W Food Services of Canada Inc.)

McDonald’s, A+W roll out all-day breakfast for Canada

Reading Time: 2 minutes Burger chains McDonald’s and A+W expect to dial up their demand for Canadian eggs as they offer all-day breakfasts alongside their beef and chicken wares across the country, starting next month. Toronto-based A+W announced Thursday it would be “the first national burger chain to offer all-day breakfast at its restaurants” coast-to-coast starting Feb. 27, after […] Read more



(Photo courtesy Canada Beef Inc.)

Eight more quarantines added in bovine TB probe

Reading Time: 2 minutes UPDATED, Jan. 23, 2017 — Another eight properties housing about 2,000 cattle have been put under federal quarantine since last week as officials continue to track down livestock exposed to bovine tuberculosis (TB). The Canadian Food Inspection Agency on Thursday pegged the number of premises under quarantine at about 58, and the number of animals […] Read more

Ireland reports BSE case, says no risk to health

Reading Time: < 1 minute Dublin | Reuters — Ireland said Wednesday that a dead cow had been confirmed as having bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE), but said it had not entered the food chain and there was no risk to human health or beef’s trade status. The animal tested positive for “atypical” BSE, Ireland’s agriculture department said in a statement, […] Read more