Hogs, Agriculture News & Resources

JBS to buy U.S. pork processor Plumrose

By Country Guide Staff March 13, 2017

Reading Time: < 1 minute U.S. ham and bacon processor Plumrose is set to become an arm of major Brazilian meatpacker JBS. JBS, whose holdings include one of Canada’s biggest beef packing plants at Brooks, Alta., announced Monday it has an agreement in place to buy Plumrose from Danish co-operative Danish Crown for US$230 million. The deal would give JBS […] Read more

(Gloria Solano-Aguilar photo courtesy ARS/USDA)

Hogs, Livestock, Reuters, Weather

Oklahoma wildfires kill thousands of pigs

By Michael Hirtzer, Renita D. Young March 10, 2017

Reading Time: 2 minutes Reuters — Wildfires devastated a Smithfield Foods hog farm in Laverne, Oklahoma, killing at least several thousand pigs, company and local officials said Friday. The exact number of swine killed in the Oklahoma fire, which began on Monday, was not immediately known. Smithfield did not say how many died in the blaze, but said no […] Read more

Hogs, Livestock, Poultry/Eggs, Reuters

Cash-rich Maple Leaf sees abundant U.S. opportunities

By Rod Nickel February 22, 2017

Reading Time: 2 minutes Reuters — Canadian meat packing company Maple Leaf Foods is hunting for acquisitions in the U.S., after years spent upgrading old factories and shedding business lines, its CEO said on Wednesday. Maple Leaf, which reported on Wednesday its profits doubled in the fourth quarter, sees growth opportunities from meat produced humanely and without antibiotics, and […] Read more

Wild boar in the western Czech Republic’s Lany game park. Wild boar in the country’s Sumava mountain region, further southwest, are turning up radioactive. (Lslany.cz)

Hogs, Livestock, Reuters

Wild boars roam Czech forests, some of them radioactive

By Reuters February 22, 2017

Reading Time: 2 minutes Prague | Reuters –– The Czech Republic has an unusual problem this winter with its wild boar meat, a local delicacy. The boars are radioactive. Actually, it’s not the boars themselves, but what they’re eating. A cold and snowy winter is forcing them to feed on false truffles, an underground mushroom common in the Sumava […] Read more

Hogs, Livestock, Poultry/Eggs, Reuters

Maple Leaf Foods allows McCain to boost stake

By Reuters February 22, 2017

Reading Time: 2 minutes Reuters — Canadian meat processor Maple Leaf Foods reported a smaller-than-expected profit on Wednesday and also said it would allow its biggest shareholder to take a bigger stake in the company. The company said CEO Michael McCain and an affiliated company, McCain Capital Inc., could now bump up their stake to as much as 45 […] Read more

Hogs, Livestock, Poultry/Eggs

Pizza chains expand antibiotic-free meat market

By Country Guide Staff February 7, 2017

Reading Time: 2 minutes Canadian pizza chains Pizza Nova and Pizza Pizza are both staking out further space in the chain dining market for meats from livestock raised without antibiotics. Toronto-based Pizza Pizza on Jan. 23 announced it would source all chicken products on its menu from birds raised without the use of antibiotics, effective immediately. The company’s pledge […] Read more

Hogs, Livestock, Markets

Hog market improving with solid exports

By Dave Sims February 3, 2017

Reading Time: 2 minutes CNS Canada — Strong U.S. exports and declining cold-storage numbers have helped push hog prices on Canada’s Prairies to better levels than a few months back. According to the latest information compiled by Saskatchewan Agriculture, the U.S. exported 173,770 tonnes of pork in November 2016, up 13.5 per cent from 153,051 in October 2016, and […] Read more

(Regis Lefebure photo courtesy ARS/USDA)

Beef Cattle, Hogs, Livestock, Markets, Reuters

U.S. livestock: Cattle, hog futures mixed on end-of-year positioning

By Michael Hirtzer December 30, 2016

Reading Time: 2 minutes Chicago/Reuters – Chicago Mercantile Exchange live cattle futures were narrowly mixed on Friday, paring earlier steep gains on end-of-year positioning, traders said. Stronger bids for cattle in U.S. Plains cash markets underpinned prices. But some investors took profits after most-active February futures hit an eight-month high before turning slightly lower. Despite the recent rally, cattle […] Read more

Hogs, Livestock, Reuters

Fat herds, leaner profits: For China’s pig farmers, New Year feasts bring cold comfort

By Dominique Patton, Hallie Gu December 29, 2016

Reading Time: 2 minutes Beijing/Reuters – With China’s Lunar New Year festivities fast approaching, pig farmers in the world’s biggest pork market have little to cheer. As they fatten herds to meet peak demand, a slump in retail prices and a spike in feed costs are grinding up profits. A wave of imports has squeezed pork retail prices 10 […] Read more

Hogs, Livestock, Markets

Hog sector optimistic heading into New Year

By Phil Franz-Warkentin December 21, 2016

Reading Time: 2 minutes CNS Canada –– A rally in U.S. hog futures over the past few weeks is also being felt in the Canadian industry, which has brought some optimism to the sector heading into the New Year. “The isoweans are stronger, which tells us that there is greater demand in the U.S. going into the spring and […] Read more

Daily Network News

USDA attachés forecast some changes in China’s oilseeds, cereals

China urges hog producers to manage output, vows timely reserve adjustments

Farm Credit Canada offers aid to farmers, companies affected by Iran war price spikes

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