Livestock & Production Tips

A steel plate set on top of a car tire and rim will hold the spool of barbed wire.

How to make a handy homemade wire unroller

Some basic materials help take the snarl out of unrolling barbed wire

By Heather Smith Thomas January 28, 2022

When building barbed-wire fence, you need an easy way to unroll the wire spools. Many methods have been used, such as putting the spool on a stationary bar and then pulling the wire along the fence line. People often put a bar or pole across the end of a pickup, putting the roll on it, […] Read more

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

Livestock, Markets, Reuters

U.S. livestock: CME lean hogs drop on profit-taking, technical selling

Faster slaughter pace drags on cattle futures

By GFM Network News January 28, 2022

Chicago | Reuters — Chicago Mercantile Exchange lean hog futures fell on Thursday, dragged by technical selling and profit-taking following a recent rally to contract highs. Tight U.S. hog supplies had fueled the recent gains and remained a supportive factor, but the market was oversold. “We had a key reversal in April hogs yesterday and […] Read more

This shed over a water trough is one example of how CLICR technology can be used to capture information on beef cattle. As cattle outfitted with RFID ear tags enter the shed to get a drink, a transponder reads their identification number.

Cattleman’s Corner, Livestock

Tracking animal performance with camera clicks

New technology coming to Canada will help livestock producers manage what they can measure

By Bruce Derksen January 27, 2022

Imagine as a livestock producer, whether of beef, dairy or hogs, and being able to get a daily read on animal weights just by checking your cellphone or tablet. You could track whether animals are maintaining their body condition, the average daily gain of a pen of steers or how many pigs have reached market […] Read more

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

Livestock, Markets, Reuters

U.S. livestock: CME live cattle up on improved slaughter pace

Lean hogs down on profit-taking

By GFM Network News January 27, 2022

Chicago | Reuters — Chicago Mercantile Exchange live cattle futures finished higher on Wednesday on technical buying and as rising U.S. slaughter rates eased concerns about cattle supply backups. Cattle processing rates have ramped up after pandemic-related staffing shortages at some meat plants. The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) estimated Wednesday’s cattle slaughter at 118,000 […] Read more

CME April 2022 lean hogs (candlesticks) with Bollinger bands (20,2). (Barchart)

Livestock, Markets, Reuters

U.S. livestock: CME lean hogs hit new contract high on slim supply

CME April live cattle up slightly

By Tom Polansek, GFM Network News January 26, 2022

Chicago | Reuters — Chicago Mercantile Exchange lean hog futures climbed to a new contract high on Tuesday on concerns about tightening U.S. supplies, analysts said. Nearby live cattle and feeder cattle futures also strengthened. U.S. cold storage data, issued after the markets closed on Monday, was supportive for hog and cattle futures, analysts said. […] Read more

Cattleman’s Corner, Cow-Calf, Livestock

Save your best nutrition for late-gestation cows

Producers share winter rations that work for their cow-calf operations

By Peter Vitti January 25, 2022

Preparing for the calving season used to be simple. The best green hay was saved for the gestating cows about two months before they calved, and most people started to feed a bit of loose cattle mineral. The funny thing is that this simple program worked at the time. As a beef nutritionist, it’s not […] Read more

(Blair Cameron photo courtesy Canada Beef Inc.)

Beef Cattle, Finishers, Livestock, Markets

Klassen: Feeder market softens on tight feed grain supply

Ontario buying interest subsides

By Jerry Klassen, GFM Network News January 25, 2022

Compared to last week, prices for yearling steers were down $2-$4 while yearling heifers were down $4 to as much as $8. Calf markets were down $3-$6 from last week. Negative feeding margins, colder temperatures and tight feed grain supplies were the three main factors setting a negative tone in the feeder market. Rail imports […] Read more

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

Livestock, Markets, Reuters

U.S. livestock: CME cattle sink to November lows

Lean hogs set contract high

By Tom Polansek, GFM Network News January 25, 2022

Chicago | Reuters — Chicago Mercantile Exchange cattle futures tumbled on Monday as investors reduced risk and after the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) last week confirmed producers placed more animals into feedlots in December, analysts said. USDA said cattle producers placed 1.96 million head in feedlots last month, up six per cent from a […] Read more

Dairy Cattle, Livestock

Study finds no data to show change in butter consistency

Not enough data to link to palm supplement use, either

By Dave Bedard, GFM Network News January 22, 2022

Updated, Jan. 24 — A panel tasked with reviewing complaints of changes in Canadian butter’s consistency has found there’s not enough data out there to support those complaints — nor to support the allegation that palm byproducts in cows’ rations were the cause. The Expert Working Group on Feed Supplementation, set up by Dairy Farmers […] Read more

CME February 2022 lean hogs (candlesticks) with Bollinger bands (20,2). (Barchart)

Livestock, Markets, Reuters

U.S. livestock: Hog futures surge to highest in over three months

U.S. cattle counts up from last year

By Reuters, GFM Network News January 22, 2022

Chicago | Reuters — Chicago Mercantile Exchange hog futures rose 1.5 per cent on Friday to hit their highest since mid-October, extending a rally on technical buying. Traders remained focused on the slaughter rate as COVID-19 disruptions have caused slowdowns at meat processors throughout the month. “The industry still isn’t functioning normally, though the processing […] Read more

GFM Network News

Women who fed a nation

U.S. grains: Soybeans rise on China demand hopes; corn and wheat rebound

U.S. livestock: Hogs rebound, cattle hit upward limits

Livestock

How to make a handy homemade wire unroller

U.S. livestock: CME lean hogs drop on profit-taking, technical selling

Tracking animal performance with camera clicks

U.S. livestock: CME live cattle up on improved slaughter pace

U.S. livestock: CME lean hogs hit new contract high on slim supply

Save your best nutrition for late-gestation cows

Klassen: Feeder market softens on tight feed grain supply

U.S. livestock: CME cattle sink to November lows

Study finds no data to show change in butter consistency

U.S. livestock: Hog futures surge to highest in over three months

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