“Not having family members that were farming made some things more difficult,” Lydia Carpenter says. “In other ways, it was an asset to us.”

The way it happens

How do new farmers get a start in Canada? Every story is unique, but so often it starts, as here, with the right people somehow getting together

Reading Time: 10 minutes If, as the Roman philosopher Seneca said, “Luck is what happens when preparation and opportunity meet,” Lydia Carpenter and Wian Prinsloo are the living embodiment of it. They have always had an interest in food production, yet neither had grown up on a farm, and when they set out to follow their passion in their […] Read more

CME August 2019 feeder cattle, with CBOT July 2019 corn (orange line). (Barchart)

U.S. livestock: Futures fall as corn rally boosts feeding costs

Reading Time: < 1 minute Chicago | Reuters — Chicago Mercantile Exchange cattle and hog futures closed mostly lower on Thursday, with a rally in the corn market pressuring livestock contracts, traders said. “It had a lot to do with corn going up,” said Doug Houghton, an analyst with Brock Associates Inc. “Feed costs are higher.” Feeder cattle futures notched […] Read more


A macrophage (immune response) cell in early stages of infection with African swine fever virus, magnified about 1,000x. (Keith Weller photo courtesy ARS/USDA)

China faces long struggle to tackle African swine fever, OIE says

Reading Time: 2 minutes Paris | Reuters — It will take years for China to contain the deadly African swine fever virus that has spread throughout the country, which is the world’s biggest pork producer, the World Organization for Animal Health (OIE) said on Tuesday. China has been struggling to control the epidemic, which some analysts predict could see […] Read more

CME June 2019 live cattle with 20-, 50- and 100-day moving averages. (Barchart)

U.S. livestock: Cattle futures firm as cash market steadies

Reading Time: < 1 minute Chicago | Reuters — Chicago Mercantile Exchange cattle futures firmed on Wednesday, supported by a steadying cash market, traders said. Cash cattle traded at $115 in Kansas on Tuesday (all figures US$). That was unchanged from a week earlier and came after five straight weeks of declines, said Rich Nelson, chief strategist with Allendale Inc. […] Read more


CME June 2019 lean hogs with 20-, 50- and 100-day moving averages. (Barchart)

U.S. livestock: Hog futures fall with demand uncertain due to trade fights

Reading Time: 2 minutes Chicago | Reuters — Chicago Mercantile Exchange lean hog futures fell 2.9 per cent to their lowest level in nearly three weeks on Tuesday, with concerns about demand from top buyers in focus amid a record-large supply in the U.S., traders said. The market shrugged off a U.S. Agriculture Department report from last week that […] Read more






(Deyana Robova photo/iStock/Getty Images)

U.S. livestock: Hogs mixed as trade war anxiety overshadows export data

Reading Time: 2 minutes Chicago | Reuters — Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) lean hog futures traded on both sides of previous levels on Thursday and closed mixed as the market weighed ample hog supplies against some signs of improved pork export demand. Hog traders were encouraged by large pork purchases by China and Mexico in weekly U.S. Department of […] Read more