As Anne Dunford has mentioned many times in the Beef Market Update, the realities of the cow herd reduction will eventually show its face in the supply and demand equation. Sometimes you just need to see things for yourself. This week as my dad, my brother and myself drove on some back roads from Kimberley… Read More
Category: Cattle
By Megan Oleksyn, It all started as an alternative market for Lanigan, Sk area farmers to sell their grain. It is now a 28,500 head/year feedlot, a 13 million litre ethanol plant and a great asset to the community. Pound-Maker began in 1970, as a 2500 head feedlot so local farmers had an alternative market… Read More
The Calgary Stampede is back again this year and it is definitely the biggest party in Canada every year. The Stampede has transitioned from a agriculture centric event to one also about the fair, thrill rides and concerts. All things considered the Calgary Stampede still holds its roots in agriculture. With the rodeo, chuck wagon… Read More
As we discuss quite often in the Beef Market Update with Anne Dunford, Canada is very dependent on the ability to export beef. As everyone knows the market place changed in 2003 when the first case of BSE was discovered in Canada. Over time Canada has been battling to regain its export markets to normalize… Read More
Not only does wet weather impact the grain and oilseed markets but it also has an impact on the livestock markets. Feedyards and ranches are in the elements which means with cattle in the elements the impact of dry or wet weather is definitely a factor in the profitability of the producer. Anne Dunford and… Read More
In this weeks episode, Anne Dunford discusses the impact that external forces are having on the North American Cattle market. It is becoming very clear that the markets like to respond to any news it can causing unnecessary prices moves which results in uncontrollable risk. Many times these external forces are reality but sometimes they… Read More
Last week the Alberta government released the information on a new age verification incentive program. Outside of Quebec, Alberta is the only province to have mandatory age verification. The data shows that even though the process is mandatory below 70% are actually getting RFID tagged. This is concerning to the province and required a response…. Read More
The Canadian Dollar is known as a commodity currency but as of late the European Union financial situation is playing havoc with the Canadian currency. Many feedyard and cattle ranchers are really getting stressed out by how violently the dollar has moved in the recent months. As we have mentioned before on this website, it… Read More
The one thing that stays consistent is that if you are in the cattle feeding business your really need to be able to stomach volatility and adverse affects that are outside of your realm of control as a producer. The snow storm has had a real impact on the cattle in the yards along with… Read More
It is amazing how a lack of volatility in today’s feed grain markets almost makes a person nervous. Feeders and farmers don’t seem believe that the corn and barley markets can actually sit still and hold a broad trading range. It really is unbelievable how we have moved from an industry that expected feed prices… Read More
Sometimes you just know that a market feels toppy but you maybe are a little scared to pull the trigger and start locking in some profits. Then without notice the market violently trades against you in a short period of time. How would that make you feel? Well if you are unsure ask your neighboring… Read More
This week I attended the Canada Grains Council Meeting and listened to a very interesting day of reports on the market access issues that Canada is facing. Unless you have been in Phoenix all winter I am sure that you have not missed the whole Triffid flax issue that has thrown a real wrench in… Read More
Its nice to actually experience some profits in the feeding business. The question is whether this will continue through the spring or fade away and leave us wondering what happened. With April producing short supplies and barbeque season a month away, the result has been some badly needed profits for the sector. For the Canadian… Read More
It is about time that we saw some black ink in the feeding sector. Whether the rise in live cattle prices is due to hedge fund buying, increasing box beef demand or the terrible weather in the US, we will take the profits anyway that we can get them. The next question is whether this… Read More
The weather in the US in the first two months of the year has led to some higher fat cattle prices. This has initiated a little optimism for the fat cattle board in 2010. What is unclear is whether or not this momentum will continue or die off like the Beta tape. One thing that… Read More