File photo of a farmed mink. (Konstantin Sokolov/iStock/Getty Images)

Canada’s mink farms brace for COVID

Producers have had time to increase biosecurity efforts at the farm level

Canada’s 40 mink farms are operating under heightened biosecurity requirements after reports of COVID-19 jumping from humans to mink in Europe. Alan Herscovici, an industry spokesperson who operates the website Truthaboutfur.com, said early reports out of Denmark and other European countries gave Canadian producers some time to prepare. “These farms have always had a certain […] Read more

CME February 2021 live cattle (candlesticks) with 20-day moving average (black line) and CME January 2021 feeder cattle (red line). (Barchart)

U.S. livestock: Live cattle up on cash market optimism, beef demand

Hogs up ahead of USDA exports report

Chicago | Reuters — Live cattle futures rose on Wednesday for a fourth straight session, climbing ahead of Thursday’s U.S. Thanksgiving holiday as strong packer margins fed expectations of improving cash cattle prices over the next few weeks, traders said. Chicago Mercantile Exchange February live cattle futures settled up 0.225 cent at 114.175 cents/lb. (all […] Read more


CME February 2021 live cattle (candlesticks) with 20-day moving average (pink line) and CME January 2021 feeder cattle (dark red line). (Barchart)

U.S. livestock: Cattle futures follow beef prices, Dow higher

Chicago lean hogs end mixed

Chicago | Reuters — U.S. cattle futures closed higher on Tuesday for a third straight session, lifted by surging wholesale beef prices and optimism that coronavirus vaccines could trigger an economic recovery, bolstering demand for meat, traders said. Wall Street’s Dow Jones industrial average hit a record high above 30,000 on upbeat COVID-19 vaccine news, […] Read more

Feeding milk replacer can be part of a well-balanced calf-feeding program.

Prevent abomasal bloat in young dairy calves

Several factors related to feeding may cause the disorder

Once the dairy calf hits the straw of the maternal pen, it is removed from its mother and shuttled away to an individual pen or hutch where abomasal bloat is often waiting. Although not fully understood by dairy veterinarians and specialists, the relatively high incidence of abomasal bloat in young dairy calves can be significantly […] Read more



CME February 2021 live cattle with 20-, 50- and 100-day moving averages. (Barchart)

U.S. livestock: Live cattle futures up two per cent

U.S. feedlot data, beef prices supportive

Chicago | Reuters — U.S. cattle futures closed higher on Monday, buoyed by Friday’s supportive monthly Cattle on Feed report, rising wholesale beef prices and strength on Wall Street tied to hopes for a COVID-19 vaccine, traders said. “All of the above (suggest) optimism for the meat market,” said Jason Roose, analyst and broker with […] Read more



(Innovafeed.com)

ADM, InnovaFeed to build world’s biggest insect protein plant in Illinois

Chicago | Reuters — U.S. grain trader and processor Archer Daniels Midland and French biotech company InnovaFeed announced plans on Thursday to build the world’s largest insect protein plant at Decatur, Illinois. The announcement comes amid rising global feed grain prices and tightening supplies, and as more companies work toward reducing the carbon footprint of […] Read more



CME February 2021 live cattle with 20-, 50- and 100-day moving averages. (Barchart)

U.S. livestock: Cattle, hog futures tumble on demand worries

Corn values also weigh on feeder cattle, hogs

Chicago | Reuters — U.S. cattle and hog futures tumbled on Thursday on worries about demand for beef and pork as soaring coronavirus infections across the country threatened more restaurant and food service closures and forced more Americans to shelter at home. Investors also fear a repeat of the livestock processing disruptions seen in the […] Read more