Everybody’s waiting to see what President Trump plans to do with NAFTA, but it’s unlikely it will be detrimental to the movement of cattle and pigs across the Canada-U.S. border, says Guelph-based livestock and meat market analyst Kevin Grier. While Trump’s “Buy American” policy and willingness to flat-out talk about being protectionist are concerning, Grier says he… Read More
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Live cattle cash prices have been in the 2016-version of free fall, and many producers have been challenged trying to understand why prices at the grocery stores have not followed suit. As demand concerns rise, speculation is that beef prices in Canada must eventually fall to increase sales at the meat counter. In this week’s… Read More
The Canadian hog market is definitely an example of an up and down cycle of financial losses, frustration, PED and financial wins. Some would say its comparable to a roller coaster full of pain and exuberance. I spoke with Kevin Grier, George Morris Center to discuss what is happening in the Canadian hog market and… Read More
Shaun Haney talks to Kevin Grier from the George Morris Center about the demand challenges for retail beef in 2014. Kevin has been doing some interesting research on how much beef is featured in grocery store fliers and he is not liking the trend. One of the big indications for beef demand is always the… Read More
The battle of the new MCOOL rules continue to raise concerns on both sides of the border. Groups like NCBA, AMI, CCA and more are battling the US Government in its quest to make MCOOL a long term reality. Obviously with the US government shut down the last two weeks, nothing is happening. MCOOL seems… Read More
With the recent decision by Tyson to ban Zilmax use by the use of its supplying feedyards and then Merck deciding to suspend the sale of Zilmax until a further evaluation is completed, many people in the cattle industry are surprised and wondering what will happen next. This week I talked to Kevin Grier, George… Read More
When the news broke that JBS was going to buy the XL Foods Lakeside plant after the fall 2012 ecoli crisis, many were relieved that a buyer had stepped up. The plant going dark was a much worse scenario for local cattle feeders. Now that the plant deal has closed we thought it would actually… Read More
The food versus fuel debate seems to be alive and well according to Kevin Grier from the George Morris Center. Kevin also believes that some of the people that should be the most update are livestock producers in Canada. As Kevin mention in the below interview, with 40% of the US corn crop being burned… Read More
When the media talks about profitability in the cattle business most times we talk about ranchers and feedyard owners. The other part of the beef value chain that cannot be forgotten is the cattle packer. Packers have not had a real great run as of late which has meant four day kill weeks. As we… Read More
The American market is very important to the Canadian cattle industry. Domestic policies in the United States can greatly impact the Canadian industry. Just think about Country of Origin Labelling (COOL) and the discussion in Canada in terms of mitigating its impact. There are some proposed changes to GIPSA potentially coming and questions and several… Read More
When an industry struggles financially, it becomes necessary to re-evaluate how business is done. The beef industry has struggled since the discovery of BSE in 2003 and the pork industry has felt the financial pain from the H1N1 pandemic. One solution being circulated in the coffee shops across the country is to make either of… Read More
Yesterday, the US Cattle on Feed Report was released and in my opinion they should get the attention of producers but also consumers. To get a better handle of the situation I asked Kevin Grier of the George Morris Center, to provide a summary: Cattle and calves on feed inventory was 4 percent below June 1, 2008…. Read More
Last month the Alberta Government announced that they were changing the checkoff rules for pork, beef, potatoes and lamb in the province. This has been a very controversial topic because of the massing theories as to what will happen with that money if a refund is requested. I spoke to Kevin Grier, Senior Market Analyst… Read More
Every market functions under supply and demand. To varying degrees, as demand increases, so do prices — if supply stays the same. If supply stays the same or grows but demand drops off, prices fall. It’s a simplified explanation and in the real world several factors play into the total demand, total supply, and the… Read More
Despite the rate of inflation slowing, food prices continue to tell a different story. The latest grocery report released by Kevin Grier Market Analysis and Consulting lays out what’s behind the increasing cost of food, with little evidence that excessive profit-taking by grocers is the culprit. The blame game is certainly being played, says Kevin… Read More