keeping calves warm

Tips for warming cold calves

Get colostrum into newborn calves, and get them dried off

Calves born during blizzards or any type of cold weather can chill quickly. Calves with body temperature below 38 C need warming. If their temperature is below 36 C, their condition is critical. There are several ways to safely warm calves. Dr. Robert Callan, a veterinarian and professor at Colorado State University in the Department […] Read more



CME April 2022 live cattle (candlesticks) with 20-, 50- and 100-day moving averages (pink, brown and black lines). (Barchart)

U.S. livestock: CME live cattle retreat on profit-taking

Hog futures lower despite rising cutout

Chicago | Reuters — Chicago Mercantile Exchange live cattle futures weakened on Friday as the market retreated from contract highs hit this week. Profit-taking weighed on futures prices, though the market remains supported by strong demand for cattle from meatpackers, traders said. Packers such as Tyson Foods and JBS slaughtered an estimated 120,000 cattle on […] Read more

Feed barley picture will change by fall

Market Update with Jerry Klassen: With high feed prices, western Canadian feedlots will be at a competitive disadvantage to U.S. feedlots until September

Prairie barley prices reached historical highs earlier in January. Lethbridge-area feedlots were buying feed barley in the range of $445-$455/tonne delivered while Red Deer operations made purchases from $430-$440/tonne. The barley market is functioning to ration demand through higher prices. The domestic feed market needs to trade high enough to halt offshore movement for barley […] Read more


CME April 2022 live cattle (candlesticks) with Bollinger bands (20,2). (Barchart)

U.S. livestock: CME live cattle lower, strong slaughter data supportive

Hogs also trade higher, end lower

Chicago | Reuters — Chicago Mercantile Exchange live cattle futures ended lower despite finding new contract highs on Thursday, pressured by lower movement across the agricultural commodities late in the trading session, though tight cattle supplies underpin the market, traders said. “Demand in general still is in good shape. You’re going to have incrementally fewer […] Read more



It takes some thinking as well as experience to know when to pull by hand, when to use the calf puller jack, or when to call for help.

Tips on using a calf puller

Often it is not needed, but when it is be careful with positioning and pulling pressure

We don’t see as many calving problems today because most producers try to use bulls that sire lower-birthweight calves, says Dr. Matt Miesner of Kansas State University. But there are still occasional problems, such as backward calves, when a calf puller is needed and cows and calves are injured by improper pulling, especially with a […] Read more

CME April 2022 lean hogs (candlesticks) with 20- and 100-day moving averages (dark red and black lines) and CME lean hog index (pink line). (Barchart)

U.S. livestock: CME hogs up as processors seek market-ready supply

Weaker corn futures support feeder cattle

Chicago | Reuters — Chicago Mercantile Exchange lean hog futures gained on Tuesday, supported by cash prices as packers attempted to pull market-ready hogs forward to slaughter, analysts said. “Packers are clearly chasing hogs. The supply of butcher hogs is not enough to meet demand,” said Dennis Smith, commodity broker at Archer Financial. CME April […] Read more



CME April 2022 lean hogs (candlesticks) with 20-, 50- and 100-day moving averages (pink, dark red and black lines). (Barchart)

U.S. livestock: CME lean hogs firm on tight hog supplies

Live cattle down off last week's gains

Chicago | Reuters — Chicago Mercantile Exchange lean hog futures gained on Monday, supported by fewer market-ready hogs and diminished pork supplies, analysts said. “There just isn’t much extra pork laying around,” said Alan Brugler, president of Brugler Marketing. CME April lean hogs settled 1.2 cents higher at 101.275 cents/lb., notching a new life-of-contract high. […] Read more