Reading Time: 2 minutes Western Canadian feeder cattle prices traded steady to $3 lower compared to seven days earlier. The market tends to soften during the first major snowstorm each year, but the established risk discount was not as severe as in past years. Notwithstanding the cold temperatures and adverse weather conditions, feedlot operators continued to step forward fairly […] Read more
Klassen: Winter conditions weigh on feeder market
New quarantines added in bovine TB probe
Reading Time: 2 minutes About 50 premises in Alberta and Saskatchewan are now under federal quarantine as the hunt continues for animals exposed this fall to one of six Alberta cattle with bovine tuberculosis. The Canadian Food Inspection Agency announced Wednesday it had added more premises to the quarantined list, covering over 26,000 animals, including infected premises. The 50-odd […] Read more
JBS plans U.S. IPO for international unit
Reading Time: 2 minutes Sao Paulo | Reuters –– Brazilian food maker JBS SA, the world’s largest beef processor, plans to launch shares of its subsidiary JBS Foods International B.V. in the U.S. in the first half of 2017 as a part of a larger reorganization, the company said on Monday. Under the plan, the unit currently based in […] Read more
Klassen: Positive margins support feeder cattle market
Reading Time: 2 minutes Alberta packers were buying fed cattle at $150 this past week, which was $5 above breakeven pen closeout values. This rally in the fed cattle market was a long time coming and renewed optimism surged across the Prairies. Feeder cattle prices traded $3-$5 above week-ago levels, with lighter calves leading the charge higher. Fierce competition […] Read more
Cattle industry leader Boyd Anderson, 96
Reading Time: 2 minutes Memorial services will be held Dec. 10 in Glentworth, Sask. for Boyd Anderson, a respected rancher and leader in the Saskatchewan and Canadian beef cattle industries, who passed away Thursday in Moose Jaw at age 96. Anderson, who had started ranching in about 1937 near Fir Mountain, about 170 km southwest of Moose Jaw, is […] Read more
Quarantined Alberta ranches to get AgriRecovery
Reading Time: 2 minutes Ranchers in southeastern Alberta having to feed and maintain quarantined cattle they can’t move or sell can expect a federal/provincial AgriRecovery plan to help cover those costs in the next few days. Federal Agriculture Minister Lawrence MacAulay and his Alberta counterpart Oneil Carlier on Wednesday announced producers faced with “extraordinary costs” due to federal quarantines […] Read more
Klassen: Feeder cattle prices climbing
Reading Time: 2 minutes Western Canadian feeder cattle markets were trading $5-$7 above week-ago levels, with higher-quality cattle trading as much as $10 higher. It’s difficult to quarrel with one’s bread and butter; feedlot margins are now in positive territory and cattle feeders are keen on ownership with the positive outlook into the March timeframe. Feature presort calf sales […] Read more
More culls, quarantines added to bovine TB probe
Reading Time: 3 minutes Thousands more cattle and calves in southeastern Alberta are now booked to be destroyed, as a search continues for animals that had contact with one or more of six tuberculosis-infected Alberta cattle. The Canadian Food Inspection Agency on Monday announced its “herd” of animals known to have commingled with the TB-infected cattle has expanded to […] Read more
Feedlots sought to take in TB-quarantined cattle
Reading Time: 2 minutes Prairie cattle producers whose herds are stuck under federal quarantine while officials trace out cases of bovine tuberculosis (TB) could soon have a option to house animals at an approved feedlot. The Canadian Food Inspection Agency on Friday said it is working with beef cattle industry representatives to find one or more feedlots where it […] Read more
Federal Tories, NDP press for TB quarantine compensation
Reading Time: 2 minutes Under pressure in the Commons Tuesday, the federal government has committed to “look into options” to compensate Alberta and Saskatchewan producers having to feed cattle they’re prohibited from selling. Federal Conservative and NDP agriculture critics David Anderson and Ruth Ellen Brosseau separately took the government to task this week over the costs producers have to […] Read more
A message from April Stewart, Country Guide's Associate Editor
