Reading Time: 2 minutes Canada’s 40 mink farms are operating under heightened biosecurity requirements after reports of COVID-19 jumping from humans to mink in Europe. Alan Herscovici, an industry spokesperson who operates the website Truthaboutfur.com, said early reports out of Denmark and other European countries gave Canadian producers some time to prepare. “These farms have always had a certain […] Read more
Canada’s mink farms brace for COVID
Producers have had time to increase biosecurity efforts at the farm level
ICE weekly outlook: Canola stronger at midweek
Reading Time: < 1 minute MarketsFarm — ICE Futures canola contracts were stronger on Wednesday, making up losses incurred earlier in the week. The nearby January contract closed Wednesday at $578.90 per tonne, gaining a few dollars after losing $7 in the prior day’s trade. Keith Ferley of RBC Dominion Securities in Winnipeg said canola’s losses were due to chart […] Read more
U.S. livestock: Cattle futures follow beef prices, Dow higher
Chicago lean hogs end mixed
Reading Time: 2 minutes Chicago | Reuters — U.S. cattle futures closed higher on Tuesday for a third straight session, lifted by surging wholesale beef prices and optimism that coronavirus vaccines could trigger an economic recovery, bolstering demand for meat, traders said. Wall Street’s Dow Jones industrial average hit a record high above 30,000 on upbeat COVID-19 vaccine news, […] Read more
The farm reason to travel
Actually, the COVID-19 pandemic is a great chance to re-think how ‘off the beaten track’ travel and extended time overseas can be great business catalysts. Three farmers and a business professor tell us how it works for them
Reading Time: 8 minutes Of course there’s a cost. Travel is an education, but how and where you travel means you do have to make the time, you do have to have the means, and you must seize an opportunity to do it. What do you get for that investment? The answer is both simple and complicated. Travel will […] Read more
Klassen: Feeder market incorporates risk discount
Reading Time: 2 minutes Compared to last week, western Canadian yearling prices were unchanged; however, calves weighing 550 to 800 lbs. traded $3-$5 lower. The market for calves under 550 lbs. traded $5 lower to $3 higher. Early in the week, prices were showing some strength in the lighter weight categories but buying enthusiasm waned from Wednesday through Friday. […] Read more
Atlantic bubble disintegrates as COVID-19 cases rise
Reading Time: 2 minutes Toronto | Reuters — The “bubble” pact between Canada’s four Atlantic provinces has disintegrated in the face of rising COVID-19 cases across the country, as premiers in Prince Edward Island and Newfoundland and Labrador announced quarantine requirements for all travelers from outside their provinces on Monday. The two provinces joined in a so-called “bubble” with […] Read more
Tyson suspends staff as suit alleges managers set up COVID pool
Reading Time: 2 minutes Chicago | Reuters — Tyson Foods said Thursday it suspended employees without pay and hired former U.S. attorney general Eric Holder to conduct an investigation in response to a wrongful death lawsuit that alleges managers at an Iowa pork plant took bets on how many employees would catch COVID-19. The coronavirus pandemic has ravaged the […] Read more
U.S. livestock: Cattle, hog futures tumble on demand worries
Corn values also weigh on feeder cattle, hogs
Reading Time: 2 minutes Chicago | Reuters — U.S. cattle and hog futures tumbled on Thursday on worries about demand for beef and pork as soaring coronavirus infections across the country threatened more restaurant and food service closures and forced more Americans to shelter at home. Investors also fear a repeat of the livestock processing disruptions seen in the […] Read more
U.S. livestock: Cattle futures retreat as COVID surge stokes demand worries
CME lean hog futures end mixed
Reading Time: 2 minutes Chicago | Reuters — U.S. cattle futures fell on Wednesday as rising coronavirus infection rates stoked concerns about potential supply-chain disruptions and reduced demand for beef as health restrictions shutter restaurants and discourage travel. U.S. stocks dove on Wednesday as investors weighed surging COVID-19 infections and mounting shutdowns against encouraging vaccine developments. An April plunge […] Read more
CBOT weekly outlook: Corn, soy continue rallies
Reading Time: < 1 minute MarketsFarm — Commodities on the Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT) have appreciated a significant rally over the past weeks. Last week’s world agriculture supply and demand estimates (WASDE) from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) detailed lower-than-expected ending stocks for soybeans, which were bullish for soybean values. “Beans are on a mission right now,” said […] Read more
A message from April Stewart, Country Guide's Associate Editor
