The first quarter of 2016 is in the books and it’s becoming clear the last two years in the cattle market were likely outliers. “Unfortunately it’s a reminder of what normal is. 2016 is nothing like 2014 and 2015 which were really bull markets that kept running through most of both years. That’s not the… Read More
Cattle prices may not be where they were a year ago, but ranchers are generally still an optimistic bunch at current levels. Anne Wasko of Gateway Livestock joins us in the middle of her busy winter meeting circuit for this latest edition of the Beef Market Update. Domestically, the volatile Canadian dollar continues to play with… Read More
Anne Wasko of Gateway Livestock, in conversation with guest host Kelvin Heppner. . It’s an interesting time for cattle markets, with the Canadian dollar hitting record lows, weather in the United States putting pressure on supply estimates, and the recent repeal of country-of-origin labelling (COOL). In fact, as we start off the new year, we’re seeing a pretty… Read More
J.P. Gervais, chief agricultural economist for Farm Credit Canada, in conversation with RealAgriculture’s Debra Murphy at the 2015 Canadian Forage and Grasslands Association Conference in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan (before mCOOL was repealed). 2015 saw some pretty incredible market pressures in the livestock sector, amidst overarching trade stories with the ongoing battle over country-of-origin labeling and the conclusion of the Trans-Pacific Partnership negotiations. But… Read More
U.S. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack declared on Friday afternoon that “effective immediately” the U.S. Department of Agriculture would not be enforcing country of origin labeling rules for beef and pork. It’s been over seven years since American packers were forced to segregate Canadian animals and meat. How quickly can they go back to operating how they… Read More
After 13-plus years of opposition — the last seven of those in legal and trade disputes, Canadian livestock producers and their organizations are celebrating the end of U.S. country of origin labeling legislation for beef and pork today. Both the U.S. House and Senate voted in favour of the omnibus appropriations bill that includes text… Read More
Update Dec 18, 2015: Both the U.S. House and Senate voted in favour of the legislation, including the text to repeal COOL, on Friday. The bill now heads to the White House for President Obama’s approval. With retaliation from Canada and Mexico looming, the U.S. government took a step late Tuesday toward repealing its mandatory country… Read More
The beef price cycle certainly appears to have peaked, as Canadian cattle prices have dropped below year-ago levels in the last few weeks. Anne Wasko of Gateway Livestock and RealAg’s Shaun Haney try to look through the fog of what’s happening in the beef market, with dropping prices and increasing protein supplies across North America, in… Read More
The World Trade Organization has given Canada and Mexico the go-ahead to retaliate against the U.S. for the discrimination caused by American country of origin meat labeling rules. The arbitrators’ decision issued Monday gave Canada permission to implement retaliatory tariffs worth up to C$1.055 billion per year. While the approved figure is less than the C$3.1 billion… Read More
In this episode of the Beef Market Update, Gateway Livestock’s Anne Wasko joins Shaun Haney in-studio for an update on the extreme volatility in the beef market since September. The duo talk about the changing market, sluggish U.S. exports, diminishing Canadian feeder cattle exports (down 67% since July) and the aggressive inventory expansion efforts of… Read More
Cattle markets, led by the futures in Chicago, took another tumble this week. “It’s been discouraging, disappointing, but again markets have shown us this this fall, when they make a move, it tends to be pretty violent or erratic,” says Anne Wasko of Gateway Livestock in this latest Beef Market Update. “We don’t seem to move… Read More
Manitoba’s newest slaughter plant is up and running, although the facility north of Carman is still waiting for the stamp that would make it the first federally-inspected plant in the province with significant beef capacity in three decades. True North Foods is currently processing 80 to 100 head of cattle and bison per week, with… Read More
We’re not entirely sure how the Beef Market Update started and ended with turkey and the Jays, but the real meat of this week’s podcast centres around how fed cattle prices have dropped, with both the feeder and calf markets following suit. On what we can expect for the rest of the year in the… Read More
It’s an interesting market for beef producers. While fed cattle are still struggling to find their market low, feeder animals are well above last year’s prices. And cow/calf producers may be feeling relieved, but will good margins be enough to persuade herd expansion? We hand Shaun Haney a bar of soap for this mid-September edition of the Beef… Read More
Where were we just one year ago? The Canadian dollar sat at 92 cents U.S. and cattle prices were at all-time highs. Those price levels have since been passed, to everyone’s surprise, but the dollar has taken an absolute beating in just a year’s time. Anne Wasko, of Gateway Livestock, joins RealAgriculture’s Lyndsey Smith for… Read More