Taste-testing during a Canadian Beef Advantage Seminar in Shanghai in 2013. (Canada Beef via YouTube)

China proposes new standards on hormone residues in beef

New standards would apply to all beef exporters

Reading Time: 2 minutes Beijing | Reuters — China has drawn up food safety standards on residue limits of growth hormones in beef, a move seen as a further step toward opening up its market to imports of the meat from the U.S. China has previously had zero tolerance for any residues of growth hormones, which has restricted the […] Read more

(Photo courtesy A&W Canada)

A+W starts move to all-grass-fed, all-Canadian beef

Suppliers lined up to begin transition this spring

Reading Time: 3 minutes Canadian burger chain A+W’s next move to distinguish its menu in a crowded quick-service market will be a connection to the regenerative ag movement, as it sets itself up with an all-Canadian and all-grass-fed beef supply. The Vancouver-based chain, which includes almost 1,000 restaurants across Canada, announced Monday it’s “making a commitment to exclusively source […] Read more


(Photo courtesy Canada Beef Inc.)

Feed weekly outlook: Soft demand weighs on prices

Reading Time: < 1 minute MarketsFarm — Feed grain prices on the Prairies remain soft ahead of spring planting, due to quiet demand from feedlots. “Feedlots are full of grain right now,” Brandon Motz of CorNine Commodities at Lacombe, Alta. said, explaining that there’s currently a lot of grain in feeding pipelines. “Spring replacement into feedlots has been really slow.” […] Read more

CME June 2020 live cattle with 20-, 50- and 100-day moving averages. (Barchart)

U.S. livestock: CME live cattle ease with equities

Chicago lean hogs rise

Reading Time: 2 minutes Chicago | Reuters — Chicago Mercantile Exchange live cattle futures weakened with equities on Tuesday, while hog futures advanced. Moves in the cattle market have nearly mirrored those in equities since last week, traders said, with the global spread of the new coronavirus fueling sharp moves. All three major U.S. stock market indexes dropped more […] Read more


(Photo courtesy Canada Beef Inc.)

Cattle inventories continue to decline, StatsCan says

Canada's hog herd also down on year

Reading Time: < 1 minute MarketsFarm — Canada’s cattle herd in 2019 continued on its generally consistent path of declining numbers, according to new data Statistics Canada released Tuesday. Aside from a few slight increases in 2012, 2013 and 2018, Canadian cattle inventories have moved lower since 2005. At 11.2 million head, the reported number of cattle on farms in […] Read more

CME April 2020 lean hogs with 20-, 50- and 100-day moving averages. (Barchart)

U.S. livestock: Hogs rally with hopes for exports to China

Cattle market similarly hopeful

Reading Time: < 1 minute Chicago | Reuters — U.S. hog futures rose 2.1 per cent on Tuesday on hopes for increased demand from China as the world’s top pork consumer announced plans to begin issuing tariff-free import licenses. China will grant exemptions on retaliatory duties imposed against 696 U.S. goods, the most substantial tariff relief to be offered so […] Read more


CME April 2020 live cattle with 20-, 50- and 100-day moving averages. (Barchart)

U.S. livestock: Hog futures advance for second day

Reading Time: 2 minutes Chicago | Reuters — U.S. lean hog futures closed higher on Friday for a second session on follow-through buying after Thursday’s limit-up close and reminders of stepped-up Chinese demand for U.S. pork, traders said. Benchmark April lean hog futures on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) settled up 1.375 cents, at 66.25 cents/lb. (all figures US$). […] Read more

CME April 2020 lean hogs with 20-, 50- and 100-day moving averages. (Barchart)

U.S. livestock: Hogs limit up on Tyson comment, short-covering

Cattle futures follow hogs higher

Reading Time: 2 minutes Chicago | Reuters — U.S. lean hog futures surged their daily three-cent limit on Thursday after comments from a Tyson Foods executive about pork demand from China ignited a wave of buying including short-covering, traders said. Tyson is competing with other global companies to supply meat to China, the world’s largest pork consumer, as an […] Read more


Cartagena’s colonial walled section and fortress are a UNESCO World Heritage site in Colombia. (CIA.gov)

Colombia cleared of foot-and-mouth

Country now aims to double meat exports

Reading Time: < 1 minute Bogota | Reuters — Colombia will look to double its meat exports now it has regained its status as a country free of foot-and-mouth disease, President Ivan Duque said on Thursday. Foot-and-mouth is a highly contagious viral disease found in animals and is one of the most serious to affect livestock, including cattle, sheep and […] Read more