A protracted labour dispute at a Quebec Olymel hog processing plant has resulted in the company announcing a “significant” reduction in activities at the Vallée-Jonction hog slaughterhouse and cutting plant. Olymel says it has assessed every option and weighed “the concerns and uncertainty that this strike continues to cause for the plant’s supplies and deliveries to… Read More
As of August 20, 2021, Singapore has approved the Canadian Food Inspection Agency’s (CFIA) certificate for the export of all beef, including beef offal, with no age restrictions. The change makes Singapore the first country to remove remaining Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (BSE) trade restrictions, following the World Organization for Animal Health (OIE) recognizing Canada as… Read More
Canadian pork production is increasingly in demand around the world, which is why the Canadian Pork Council (CPC) is committing to policies that will support a value chain that supports growth, in the upcoming federal election. Rick Bergmann, CPC chair says that Canadian pork producers work hard every day to provide high quality, nutritious, affordable,… Read More
Starting this week’s episode of the Beef Market Update with Anne Wasko of the Gateway Livestock Exchange, is some positivity when it comes to trading fat cattle in both the U.S. and Western Canada. In the southern U.S., the fats are trading around the $122 mark, with the northern states around the $126-$128 mark, says… Read More
In gearing up for Hay West, the question has been asked, why not cows east? It’s an important question to ask. After all, one load of cattle to Ontario, Quebec, or the Atlantic provinces saves sending several truck loads of hay west. There’s no shortage of easterners wanting to send “extra” feed west, but much… Read More
Forage and hay production this year has been challenging, and livestock producers in much of the Northern Great Plains and the western half of North America are looking for alternative forage resources and feeding strategies. Zach Carlson, extension beef specialist at North Dakota State University, is looking at options for producers who might have canola… Read More
The federal government has approved $500 million for drought and wildfire relief programs under the AgriRecovery framework, just hours before the launch of the federal election campaign on Sunday. The total includes the previously-announced $100 million. “We thank Minister Bibeau for attaining further funding to help beef farmers and ranchers dealing with widespread severe drought… Read More
Canadian Cattlemen’s Association (CCA) executive vice president Dennis Laycraft’s recent trip to the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association (NCBA) convention in Nashville was a busy week. To start, Laycraft met with new leaders of organizations that frequent the convention, who were really appreciative that CCA made the effort to get down there. On Laycraft’s agenda of… Read More
Drought in Western Canada is causing dire hay shortages, and a familiar program is popping up in the hopes of Eastern Canada helping counterpart livestock producers in the west once again. The Canadian Federation of Agriculture (CFA) has announced it has begun work to facilitate a Hay West initiative to send surplus hay from farmers… Read More
Saskatchewan RCMP and Livestock Services of Saskatchewan have issued a warning to livestock producers to keep an eye on their hay. RCMP in the province are investigating a series of complaints after several livestock producers became victims of fraud while attempting to purchase hay. Ads were posted on social media and other buy and sell… Read More
The Ontario government says it will deliver immediate assistance to livestock farmers impacted by drought in northwestern Ontario by committing provincial funding for AgriRecovery. The province is committing up to $5 million in funding for the 40 per cent provincial cost share. The federal government recently announced $100 million for AgriRecover across Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba,… Read More
Agriculture Minister for Saskatchewan David Marit announced today (August 10) that the province will provide $119 million in direct support for drought-affected cattle producers under the Agri-Recovery framework. The province says the program will provide a per head payment to help maintain breeding stock and will help producers with extraordinary costs caused by the drought,… Read More
The Manitoba government says it will commit $62 million in provincial funding to AgriRecovery programs to help livestock producers affected by this year’s drought. While details were not included in the August 10 announcement, Agriculture Minister Ralph Eichler says the programs will be designed to “ensure producers have options to retain and care for their… Read More
Feeding livestock means being aware of what nasty toxins may lurk in feed. From listeria, to DON, to ergot, several plant disease or soil-borne issues can end up in a final feed source. When issues arise, farmers and ranchers depend on testing and industry guidelines to know how much can safely be fed in a… Read More
It’s been the story for weeks, but unfortunately, still a big one — there are large parts of the country that are facing drought, and it is severely impacting the beef industry. Seeing as this is the Beef Market Update, it wouldn’t be natural if we didn’t talk the price side of all of this… Read More