File photo of an Ontario cherry orchard. (UpdogDesigns/iStock/Getty Images)

Audit finds Canada failing migrant farmworkers on COVID-19, housing inspections

Toronto | Reuters — As the COVID-19 pandemic raged, federal government inspectors frequently deemed the employers of migrant workers compliant with health and safety rules despite a lack of evidence, according to an Auditor General report released Thursday. While Canadian provinces and territories set housing standards, the federal government is responsible for ensuring tens of […] Read more

(ThamKC/iStock/Getty Images)

U.S. EPA proposes biofuel mandate cuts

Proposal seen as boost to pandemic-hit refiners

New York | Reuters — The Biden administration proposed on Tuesday a reduction in the amount of biofuels that U.S. oil refiners were required to blend into their fuel mix since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. The long-awaited decision offers some relief to the U.S. refining industry after the health crisis slammed domestic demand […] Read more


Dominic Barton. (Video screengrab from McKinsey.com)

Ambassador to China to leave post after helping free detainees

Canola, 5G access, other issues remain

Ottawa | Reuters –– Canada’s ambassador to China said on Monday he would soon leave his post after a two-year assignment where he helped secure the freedom of two Canadian detainees despite icy relations between Beijing and Ottawa. Dominic Barton’s departure, which will take effect Dec. 31, leaves a crucial diplomatic post open at a […] Read more

File photo outside Cargill’s beef slaughter and packing plant at High River, Alta. on May 6, 2020. (Photo: Reuters/Todd Korol)

Strike averted at Cargill’s High River beef plant

Deal that hikes wages by 21 per cent and offers large bonuses receives majority backing

Workers at Cargill’s beef packing plant in southern Alberta have voted in favour of a contract that will hike wages by 21 per cent and provide improved health benefits. “The contract is the best of its kind and presented unprecedented gains in this time of economic and political uncertainty,” United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW) […] Read more


CME January 2022 feeder cattle (candlesticks) with 20-, 50- and 100-day moving averages (pink, dark red and black lines). (Barchart)

U.S. livestock: CME cattle, hog futures finish higher

Investors' COVID concerns eased

Chicago | Reuters — Chicago Mercantile Exchange livestock futures finished higher on Wednesday as the markets recovered after dropping the previous session to their lowest prices in more than a week. Prices rose as investors’ concerns eased about the Omicron coronavirus variant, which rattled commodity and financial markets on Tuesday, traders said. Chicago Board of […] Read more



File photo outside Cargill’s beef slaughter and packing plant at High River, Alta. on May 6, 2020. (Photo: Reuters/Todd Korol)

Cargill beef plant workers to vote on new negotiated offer

High River workers otherwise headed for strike or lockout Monday

Workers at Cargill’s major beef slaughter and packing plant in Alberta will vote this week on a new offer which it’s hoped will avert a strike or lockout, both due to start Monday. The new offer follows a “marathon” of negotiations Tuesday between Cargill representatives and the bargaining committee for United Food and Commercial Workers […] Read more

CBOT March 2022 wheat (candlesticks) with Bollinger bands (20,2). (Barchart)

U.S. grains: Wheat extends slide as Omicron worries mount

Corn, soybeans also slip on virus fears

Chicago | Reuters — Chicago wheat prices fell to a nearly three-week low on Tuesday, as concerns that the spread of the Omicron coronavirus variant could slow the global economy drove investors to reduce risk exposure. The entire grains complex felt pressure early in the session, after Moderna’s CEO cautioned that COVID-19 shots were unlikely […] Read more


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

U.S. livestock: CME live cattle fall from highs as Omicron rattles markets

Chicago February lean hogs also lower

Chicago | Reuters — Chicago Mercantile Exchange live cattle futures weakened on Tuesday as worries about the new Omicron coronavirus variant rattled commodity and financial markets. Losses pulled live cattle futures down from contract highs reached in recent sessions. CME lean hog futures also fell, along with U.S. grains and soybeans, after Moderna’s chief cast […] Read more

(Photo courtesy Canada Beef Inc.)

Klassen: Feeder market making seasonal lows

Surge of Canadian cattle exports expected

Compared to last week, western Canadian feeder markets were down $2-$4 on average. Prices for feeder cattle in the eastern Prairie regions were relatively unchanged from seven days earlier; however, values in Alberta and western Saskatchewan were down $4 to as much as $8 in some cases. This variation made the market hard to define. […] Read more