Livestock
Reading Time: 2 minutes For the week ending August 3, Western Canadian feeder cattle prices were relatively unchanged from seven days earlier. Strong buying interest continued on yearlings straight off grass; however, the “just get’em” type orders that were evident a week earlier now had limits. More cattle will come available in August and buyers are being more patient to see how the market develops.
Klassen: Feeder rally stalls
China shuts cattle farm after anthrax outbreak, five human infections
Reading Time: < 1 minute China's eastern Shandong province reported five people were infected with anthrax and a beef cattle farm was shut after an outbreak was discovered in the agricultural province.
CFIA won’t enforce some ritual slaughter requirements after appeal from Jewish organizations
Reading Time: 2 minutes The CFIA will no longer require three determinations of unconsciousness previously mandated for ritually slaughtered animals after a recent federal court ruling. Jewish organizations and companies had appealed the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) regulations in court, claiming they made kosher slaughter difficult, which resulted in a disruption in supply of kosher meat in Canada.
Farm writer and political fundraiser Mark Kihn passes
Reading Time: 2 minutes After a long struggle with cancer, Mark Kihn, the former owner and publisher of the Charolais Banner, has died. Outside the beef industry, Kihn is likely best known for his work fundraising for Stephen Harper, rustling up over $3.5 million for Harper’s two leadership campaigns.
US to spend $10 million to curb bird flu in farm workers
CDC plans vaccine push; says risk to general public remains low
Reading Time: 2 minutes The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said on Tuesday it plans to spend $10 million to curb farm worker bird flu infections, including $5 million for seasonal flu vaccines, as part of its efforts to avoid further spread and mutation of the virus.
Klassen: Western Canadian yearling prices hit fresh record highs
Reading Time: 2 minutes The year-over-year decline in last year’s calf crop has caused the market to set new records. Larger finishing feedlots are setting the price structure as many of these lots have seasonal low inventory. The quality of yearlings coming off grass is excellent with buyers shopping for feed efficiencies.
U.S. livestock: Live cattle futures surge on cash market, GDP data
Reading Time: 2 minutes Chicago | Reuters – Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) cattle futures climbed on Thursday, as prices in the cash market rose and signs of strength appeared in the U.S. economy, market analysts said. At one point during the session, the most-active October live cattle futures contract LCV24 surged up to 189.050 cents per pound – the highest price […] Read more
Light shed on bird flu spread in mammals
Reading Time: 2 minutes Researchers from Cornell University have determined how cows infected with H5N1 bird flu were able to spread the virus to other cows and mammals. In the study published in the journal Nature on July 24, scientists used genomic data, computer modeling, and data about the virus’s spread to show how infected cows from Texas spread bird flu […] Read more
Feed Weekly: Crops still in ‘relatively good condition’
Reading Time: < 1 minute The hot and dry weather present in much of the Prairies for much of July may not have yet put a dent in production numbers. Matt Beusekom, trader for Market Place Commodities in Lethbridge, Alta., said while the heat is pressuring crops, good harvests are still expected for now. “(The heat) has definitely had an […] Read more
Brazil beef output to hit record in 2024, Conab says
Reading Time: < 1 minute Sao Paulo | Reuters – Brazil’s beef production is expected to reach a record 10.19 million metric tons in 2024, national crop agency Conab said on Thursday, a 7.1 per cent year-on-year increase that would eclipse the current all-time high set in 2006. Beef exports from the South American country are seen reaching 3.44 million […] Read more
A message from April Stewart, Country Guide's Associate Editor
