Livestock
Reading Time: 2 minutes Western Canadian feedlots are carrying sufficient numbers for the time being and feeding margins remain deep in red ink on unhedged cattle. Secondly, carcass weights are sharply above year-ago levels and Alberta finishing lots are backed up with market-ready supplies.
Klassen: Yearling price trend stalls while calves ratchet higher
Larger players aggressively securing lightweight calves on expectations of low yearling supplies
Tyson Foods to close Iowa pork plant with 1,200 workers
Packer's pork business saw loss of $128 million in last fiscal year
Reading Time: 2 minutes Tyson Foods will permanently close a pork plant in Perry, Iowa, the meatpacker said on Monday, eliminating jobs for about 1,200 workers.
Klassen: Grassers and herd rebuilding confidence keeps feeders elevated
Major grazing regions of Western Canada receive more than double of normal precipitation in last month
Reading Time: 2 minutes The major grazing regions of Western Canada have received over 200 per cent of normal precipitation over the past 30 days. Grassers were red hot. Demand has also increased for herd building heifers which has diminished supplies for finishing feedlots.
Olymel parent company posts profit after plant closures
The company closed plants in Ontario, Quebec, and slowed production in the west in 2023
Reading Time: 2 minutes Sollio Cooperative Group, parent company of meat processor Olymel, says it’s back in the black after a period of losses led to closures and cut-backs.
New York sues meatpacking giant JBS over climate claims
Attorney general calls company's emissions goals 'infeasible'
Reading Time: 2 minutes JBS, the world's largest beef producer, was sued on Wednesday by New York state's attorney general, which accused it of misleading the public about its impact on the environment in order to boost sales.
Klassen: Statistics Canada confirms lower feeder cattle supplies
Precipitation in Alberta, Saskatchewan increases demand for grassers
Reading Time: 2 minutes Compared to last week, Western Canadian yearling or backgrounded steers prices were quoted $5 to $8 higher; yearling or backgrounded heifers were unchanged to $4 higher. Calves were trading $4 to as much as $10 higher.
Canadian cattle herd reaches lowest level since 1989
Cattle weights supporting decline in production
Reading Time: 2 minutes On January 1, Canadian farmers held 11.1 million cattle and calves on farms, down 2.1 per cent from a year prior, StatCan said in livestock estimates released today. It's the smallest cattle herd since January 1, 1989.
Klassen: Feeder market shows signs of herd expansion
Some buyers suggest some heifers are being purchased for breeding
Reading Time: 2 minutes For the week ending February 17, Western Canadian prices for yearlings and backgrounded cattle were quoted $2-$4/cwt higher than seven days earlier.
National hog research firm gets $10.6 million in federal funds
Research to include new vaccines, antimicrobial alternatives, feed strategies, and genetics
Reading Time: < 1 minute The federal government has pledged up to $10.6 million for hog sector research, it said in an announcement today.
US agriculture secretary sees ‘chaos’ in meat market without congressional action on Prop 12
Canadian sector worried state-specific regulations will cause severe complications for producers selling into U.S.
Reading Time: 2 minutes There will be chaos in the U.S. meat marketplace without congressional action on California's Prop 12 law that tightened animal welfare requirements for pork products sold in the state, Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack said during a congressional hearing on Wednesday.
A message from April Stewart, Country Guide's Associate Editor
