Daniel Wuergler, co-owner of the Gallipool Frasses farm, walks among 18,000 Lohmann Classic laying hens at Les Montets, about 45 km northeast of Lausanne, on Sept. 16, 2022. (Photo: Reuters/Denis Balibouse)

Swiss reject initiative to ban factory farming

Voters back narrowly back rise in women's retirement age to 65

Geneva | Reuters — Swiss voters on Sunday rejected a proposal to ban factory farming in a referendum on whether the wealthy country’s strict animal welfare laws need to be tightened yet further. The government’s VoteInfo App showed a provisional result of 62.86 per cent of votes against the proposal, put to a referendum under […] Read more

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

U.S. livestock: CME live cattle, lean hogs slide on recession worries

Feeder cattle up on lower corn prices

Chicago | Reuters — Chicago Mercantile Exchange live cattle futures fell to their lowest level since early August on Friday on fears of a global recession that could curb demand for commodities including beef, traders said. CME October live cattle settled down 0.6 cent at 144.25 cents/lb. and the most-active December contract fell 0.8 cent […] Read more


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

U.S. livestock: CME cattle, hogs sag on macroeconomic concerns

Economy raises concern for beef demand

Chicago | Reuters — Chicago Mercantile Exchange live cattle futures ended lower on Thursday, extending a pull-back from four-month highs set this week as traders worried about the health of the world economy and softening demand for beef, traders said. CME October live cattle ended down 1.025 cents at 144.85 cents/lb. and the most-active December […] Read more

Western Canadian yearling prices have strengthened over the past month.

Feeder cattle numbers decline

Market Update with Jerry Klassen: Beef demand remains strong

During the last week of August, Alberta packers were buying fed cattle on a live basis in the range of $180-$181/cwt delivered, up $7-$8/cwt from 30 days earlier. U.S. and Canadian beef production has been running above a year ago, and beef demand has exceeded earlier projections. Inflation pressures on both sides of the border […] Read more


CME December 2022 lean hogs (candlesticks, right column) with 20- and 100-day moving averages (brown and black lines) and CME cash lean hog index (pink line, left column). (Barchart)

U.S. livestock: CME hogs down on weak pork prices, macroeconomic fears

Chicago cattle also end lower ahead of report

Chicago | Reuters — Chicago Mercantile Exchange lean hog futures fell nearly two per cent on Wednesday as falling wholesale pork prices and worries about the health of the global economy triggered a round of long liquidation, traders said. CME October lean hogs settled down 1.55 cents at 94.425 cents/lb. and most-active December hogs fell […] Read more

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

U.S. livestock: CME live cattle firm on strong cash trade

Nearby hogs lower despite cash strength

Chicago | Reuters — Chicago Mercantile Exchange live cattle strengthened on Tuesday, underpinned by strong cash markets and tight supplies of market-ready cattle, though recession fears limit gains, traders said. “We saw some pretty strong cash trade in the western corn belt yesterday,” said Alan Brugler, president of Brugler Marketing. “Our long-term bias is higher, […] Read more


(Photo courtesy Canada Beef Inc.)

Klassen: Weaker Canadian dollar supports feeder market

Weather optimal for bringing in fresh replacements

Compared to last week, western Canadian yearlings traded steady to $2 higher on average while calves traded $2 higher to $4 lower. The calf market was hard to define due to limited numbers while larger supplies of yearlings were on offer in Manitoba this past week. Alberta packers were buying fed cattle on a dressed […] Read more

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

U.S. livestock: CME live cattle mixed

Tight supplies underpin futures

Chicago | Reuters — Chicago Mercantile Exchange live cattle futures were mixed to firmer on Monday, supported by diminished supplies of market-ready cattle that should be reflected in the U.S. Agriculture Department’s monthly Cattle on Feed report, due Friday. “It’s been a slow climb, but it’s also predicated on very large demand,” said Dennis Smith, […] Read more


File photo of chicks on a genetic map of a chicken. (Peggy Greb photo courtesy ARS/USDA)

Avian flu returns to southwestern Ontario

More cases also turn up in western provinces

Highly pathogenic avian influenza has circled back to Ontario for the first time in four months with an outbreak in a commercial poultry flock in Oxford County. The Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) on Friday confirmed the outbreak at a farm in the township of Zorra, about 20 km east of London. Details on the […] Read more

"Dr. Google" may work for an initial search for information, but are those links taking you to trusted websites or organizations?

An extensive list of information resources

Animal Health: It's important to assess the credibility of information you may find online

The answer is probably out there somewhere — you just need to ask. All of us in cattle production run into questions about things we haven’t seen before or don’t understand. There are always questions, whether they’re related to production, genetics, animal welfare or some other facet involving the whole animal production cycle. It is […] Read more