Retailers are enjoying this part of the beef cycle. Producers? Not so much. Cattle futures put in some new lows last week, as Anne Wasko of Gateway Livestock joins us for another Beef Market Update. With slaughter levels in the U.S. up around 10 percent for the last two weeks of April, there’s been a… Read More
Category: Meat Markets
Cattle feeding does take a true cast iron gut at times. Whether it is dollar exchange, feed costs or external political factors, the volatility in all the profit and loss variables is enough to drive you mad. In this weeks Beef Market Update Anne Wasko and Shaun Haney discuss the beef markets and how the… Read More
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Murphy at the 2015 Canadian Forage and Grasslands Association Conference in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan (before mCOOL was repealed). 2015 saw some pretty incredible market pressures in the livestock sector, amidst overarching trade stories with the ongoing battle over country-of-origin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