Tag: Kevin Grier

The Canadian hog market is definitely an example of an up and down cycle of financial losses, frustration, PED and financial wins. Some would say its comparable to a roller coaster full of pain and exuberance. I spoke with Kevin Grier, George Morris Center to discuss what is happening in the Canadian hog market and… Read More

Shaun Haney talks to Kevin Grier from the George Morris Center about the demand challenges for retail beef in 2014. Kevin has been doing some interesting research on how much beef is featured in grocery store fliers and he is not liking the trend. One of the big indications for beef demand is always the… Read More

Anyone that has ever fed cattle has targeted a hole in the market to get a better price at some point.  Sometimes the hole develops as predicted and sometimes the market adjusts and the hole is no more than a dent.  In the first four weeks of January, cattle packers in the US found themselves… Read More

The battle of the new MCOOL rules continue to raise concerns on both sides of the border.  Groups like NCBA, AMI, CCA and more are battling the US Government in its quest to make MCOOL a long term reality.  Obviously with the US government shut down the last two weeks, nothing is happening.  MCOOL seems… Read More

With the recent decision by Tyson to ban Zilmax use by the use of its supplying feedyards and then Merck deciding to suspend the sale of Zilmax until a further evaluation is completed, many people in the cattle industry are surprised and wondering what will happen next. This week I talked to Kevin Grier, George… Read More

When the news broke that JBS was going to buy the XL Foods Lakeside plant after the fall 2012 ecoli crisis, many were relieved that a buyer had stepped up.  The plant going dark was a much worse scenario for local cattle feeders. Now that the plant deal has closed we thought it would actually… Read More

There is pressure building in the halls of Washington to rescind the mandatory ethanol mandates.  With tightening supplies of corn creating higher feed prices for livestock producers and higher food costs for consumers, the pressure mounting  in Washington is real. To this point though, according to Kevin Grier of the George Morris Center, nothing has changed.  Kevin believes that… Read More

The food versus fuel debate seems to be alive and well according to Kevin Grier from the George Morris Center.  Kevin also believes that some of the people that should be the most update are livestock producers in Canada.  As Kevin mention in the below interview, with 40% of the US corn crop being burned… Read More

When the media talks about profitability in the cattle business most times we talk about ranchers and feedyard owners. The other part of the beef value chain that cannot be forgotten is the cattle packer. Packers have not had a real great run as of late which has meant four day kill weeks.  As we… Read More

The American market is very important to the Canadian cattle industry. Domestic policies in the United States can greatly impact the Canadian industry. Just think about Country of Origin Labelling (COOL) and the discussion in Canada in terms of mitigating its impact. There are some proposed changes to GIPSA potentially coming and questions and several… Read More