The interesting news on the cut-out front is that the Canadian AAA cut-out has finally caught up to the equivalent US Choice cut-out (in Canadian dollar terms). At the end of July the AAA cut-out was reported at $194. Meanwhile the Choice of $188 converted to $193 Canadian equivalent or $1 lower than the Canadian… Read More

Feedyards have moved from having to wait for cattle to be lifted for weeks on end to a situation where the market is very current.  This has put a little needed marketing power in the hands of feedyards instead of the packer.  The strong basis has beena n excellent incentive to sell cattle on schedule… Read More

Cargill has announced that they will be shutting down its Plainview, Texas Cattle slaughter plant.  Cargill cited a shrinking cattle supply as one of the reasons for the decision. Is this a big surprise, not really in terms of the excess capacity that is in North America.  For Canada, the near term impact is a… Read More

Last week’s U.S. beef market opened with the same strong numbers leading up to American Thanksgiving. By the end of the week, numbers had, as expected, weakened somewhat, as supplies increase in the U.S. In Canada, the reverse is true for supplies — as the fall run ends, the basis is tightening. Canadian cattle producers… Read More

The markets are volatile and could be described liked standing inside a hurricane at times.  Only this time the hurricane was real.  With Hurricane Sandy ripping through the east coast, the impacts on beef demand must be questioned. With the XL Foods hangover working its way out, feed yards and ranchers are trying to get… Read More

The recent meat recall at XL Foods is just another issue to provide adversity to the Canadian cattle industry.  With one of two Western Canadian packers being forced to deal with a meat recall the lift lines have pushed an already wide basis wider.   Additionally, the topic of a struggling pork industry has left… Read More