Just two short weeks ago, no one was really sure what was ahead for the COVID-19 virus lockdown and social distancing. In just two short weeks, cities are ghost towns, and grocery store shelves and coolers are suspiciously absent of some key items — beef, pork, and chicken among them. A flurry of retail buying… Read More
What a week. Frankly, the last week and even two weeks has been wild enough — let alone the last 24 hours — as the impact of COVID-19 makes its way into North American travel bans, the stock market, oil prices, the Canadian dollar and more. The volatility has been extreme. Anne Wasko, of the… Read More
If you’re looking for good news, you may not find it in the cattle markets this week. Mounting concerns over the spread of coronavirus and the global economy are starting to play a significant role. Anne Wasko of the Gateway Livestock Exchange is considering this a black swan event akin to the fire in Kansas… Read More
The China-U.S. mega trade deal promising big things for ag product sales has seen some of its momentum lost to the coronavirus outbreak. “It makes things way more complicated,” says Don Close, a senior analyst at RaboResearch Food & Agribusiness. “As soon as that agreement was signed, U.S. markets started to sell off, and have… Read More
What carries greater downside risk: having to sell in a down market to generate cash flow, or pre-selling a crop in increments? The short answer is it depends, but the in-depth explanation is that panic or stressed sales by their nature are rarely the most profitable. Pre-selling some crop carries a risk, yes, but there… Read More
In a world market where volatility is the name of the game, “steady” is probably more positive than negative. And that’s about where we are for this first full month of 2020, says Anne Wasko of Gateway Livestock Exchange. Nearly across the board — and across the border — prices are steady, cut out is… Read More
The final numbers are starting to roll in for 2019 beef markets, and it appears that Canada is well-positioned for another good year. In this episode of the Beef Market Update, RealAgriculture’s Shaun Haney and Gateway Livestock’s Anne Wasko take a walk through 2019, considering the impacts of African swine fever, and where Canadian beef… Read More
The USDA released its latest cattle on feed report for December 1, 2019. Cattle and calves on feed for the slaughter market in the United States for feedlots with capacity of 1,000 or more head totalled 12 million head, that’s up 2% year-over-year. Placements in feedlots during November totalled 2.09 million head, 5 per cent… Read More
Like most years in the cattle business, 2019 brought highs and lows that will be remembered and some points we’d rather forget. From high packer margins, to uncertain feed costs, to strong demand, this year brought many challenges and opportunities for ranchers and feeders. It’s time though to put 2019 behind us and look ahead… Read More
As the year winds down, the U.S. cattle market is showing strength, even with a seasonal pull back in prices, and a return to full processing capacity. Canada has been enjoying record exports to Japan, with continued demand for high quality, high grading product. But as we look ahead to the new year, it’s the… Read More
It’s been over two months since the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) suspended the license of a beef slaughter and processing plant in Ontario, and the shutdown is taking a toll on the eastern Canadian beef industry. Toronto-based Ryding-Regency Meat Packers Ltd. saw the suspension of its Safe Food for Canadians license effective September 17,… Read More
The United States Department of Agriculture released its November 1 cattle-on-feed report, which saw results in line with pre-report expectations. Anne Wasko, of the Gateway Livestock Exchange, sums up the report below: “November 1 cattle-on-feed is up 1 per cent from last year at 11.8 million head. This is 7 per cent larger than the… Read More
Fresh off a big trip to New Zealand representing the Canadian Roundtable for Sustainable Beef, Anne Wasko, of Gateway Livestock Exchange, is back for a Beef Market Update. (Read more about Anne’s experience at the Global Roundtable for Sustainable Beef here) Here in the northern hemisphere, it was another good week in the U.S., with… Read More
It may just be the story we look back on for cattle markets in 2019 – both the United States and Canada have produced more beef, while at the same time, wholesale prices remain high. “That is a good news story. I don’t think we better get complacent though,” says Gateway Livestock Exchange’s Anne Wasko,… Read More
The United States Department of Agriculture has released its October 2019 edition of the U.S. Cattle on Feed report which showed cattle on feed down one percent in comparison to a year ago as of October 1. According to Anne Wasko of the Gateway Livestock Exchange, “There were no real surprises in the numbers this… Read More