Reading Time: < 1 minute North America's hog industry is grappling with multiple issues these days, but is presently feeling better than some of the other livestock industries. That doesn't mean that everything's great, but not yet having to deal with avian flu infections is keeping hog farmers in a cautiously optimistic mood about their challenges.
Issues loom over hog farmers as they gather in Des Moines
Prop 12, bird flu, farm bill top of mind at this year's World Pork Expo
U.S. livestock: CME cattle futures mixed, hog futures lower, amid demand questions
Reading Time: < 1 minute Chicago | Reuters – Chicago Mercantile Exchange cattle futures ended Monday mixed, after conflicting market signals sent feeder cattle futures lower and nearby live cattle contracts slightly higher. Lean hog futures eased, as market participants wrestled with growing uncertainty over consumer demand for meat as the U.S. enters into the traditional summer grilling season. In […] Read more
U.S. livestock: CME cattle stabilize after bird flu roils markets
Reading Time: 2 minutes Chicago | Reuters – Chicago Mercantile Exchange cattle futures stabilized on Friday after U.S. testing of ground beef samples for H5N1 bird flu fuelled wild swings, but markets still closed lower for the week. Live cattle and feeder cattle futures had rallied on Thursday after the U.S. Department of Agriculture said the samples from retail […] Read more
U.S. livestock: CME cattle soar as cash markets firm
Reading Time: 2 minutes Chicago | Reuters – Chicago Mercantile Exchange live cattle futures jumped on Thursday, buoyed by rising cash cattle prices and a government inventory report confirming that the total number of U.S. cattle fell to a 73-year low. CME April live cattle futures LCJ24 settled up 2.475 cents at 183.175 cents per pound, nearing Monday’s 2-1/2-month high of […] Read more
Smaller U.S. swine herd likely as Prop 12 takes effect, think tank says
Canadian pork sector concerned the animal welfare law will act as a non-tariff trade barrier
Reading Time: 2 minutes The cost of compliance with a California animal welfare law, which takes full effect on New Year’s Day, will likely shrink the U.S. national hog herd and lead to further consolidation, a Washington State think tank says. “No one will be spared the change in market pressures,” wrote Pam Lewison, director for the Washington Policy […] Read more
PigTrace tag prices go up Dec. 15
Program costs 'unsustainable' without price increase
Reading Time: < 1 minute One of the prices producers pay for hog traceability will be going up 10 per cent. The Manitoba Pork Council said in a notice to producers Wednesday that the Canadian Pork Council will apply a 10 per cent increase to the prices of PigTrace ear tags and accessories, effective Dec. 15. Table: PigTrace ear tag […] Read more
Manitoba hog yard cleared for U.S. export
Separate export certificate had been required for yard's cull sows
Reading Time: < 1 minute U.S. authorities have lifted an order that required sows from one Manitoba assembly yard to be certified free of Seneca Valley virus before crossing the border. The U.S. Department of Agriculture confirmed Canada in the second-last week of November had now met protocol conditions for Seneca Valley virus and has lifted the health certificate requirement, […] Read more
ASF compartmentalization moves a step forward
Plan not an attempt to download responsibilities, CFIA says
Reading Time: 2 minutes Canada is one step closer to a compartmentalizing regime that hog farmers and the rest of the industry hope protects them against market impacts of African swine fever. Practical application can be developed now that the Canadian Food Inspection Agency has released its National Standards and National Framework for the Canadian ASF Compartment Program. From […] Read more
Market uncertainty, election weigh on Manitoba pork sector
Volatility remains a feature, Manitoba Pork GM says
Reading Time: 2 minutes MarketsFarm — Cam Dahl, general manager of Manitoba Pork, has felt the highs and lows of the province’s pork industry over the past few months. While he expects Manitoba’s feed grain harvest to provide some relief to feed prices for pork producers, Dahl also mentioned Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the African swine fever situation in […] Read more
Olymel to consolidate Ontario, Quebec further-processing
Chicken plant at Paris, Ont., and pork plant at Princeville, Que. to close
Reading Time: 3 minutes Pork and poultry packer Olymel is preparing to permanently shut two further-processing facilities and shift their work to other plants in a new round of consolidation. Olymel, the meat packing arm of Quebec’s Sollio Cooperative, announced Wednesday it will permanently close its pork boning and packaging plant at Princeville, Que. effective Nov. 10, and its […] Read more
A message from April Stewart, Country Guide's Associate Editor
