(Maple Leaf Foods photo via Facebook)

Quebec poultry packer to shut ex-Maple Leaf plant

Giannone to close Drummondville facility

The new owner of an antibiotic-free poultry processing plant in the Centre-du-Quebec region is set to shut the plant next week after a “thorough review” of its condition. Volaille Giannone announced Friday it will close the former Avicomax plant at Drummondville effective Nov. 6, after having bought it from Maple Leaf Foods in July for […] Read more

CME December 2020 live cattle with Bollinger (20,2) bands. (Barchart)

U.S. livestock: Live cattle edge higher in subdued trade

Chicago hogs end mixed

Chicago | Reuters — U.S. live cattle futures closed higher on Friday for a fourth straight session, supported by follow-through technical buying after Thursday’s strong close and brisk demand for beef, analysts said. But trading volume was thin as brokers waited for significant cash cattle trade to emerge. Fat cattle traded lightly in the southern […] Read more


(JBSsa.com)

JBS to seek damages from founders

Brazil shareholder vote a win for Brazil's BNDES

Sao Paulo | Reuters — Shareholders in JBS SA on Friday cleared the way for the Brazilian food processor to sue its own controlling stakeholders and certain former managers, a rare victory for shareholder activism in Latin America’s largest economy. The vote was a win for JBS’s top minority shareholder, national development bank BNDES, which […] Read more

CME December 2020 live cattle with 20-, 50- and 100-day moving averages. (Barchart)

U.S. livestock: Live cattle futures jump on tightening supplies

Lower wholesale pork values drag on hogs

Chicago | Reuters — U.S. live cattle futures closed higher on Thursday on expectations that tight cattle supplies and rising demand for beef will buoy cash cattle markets, analysts said. Cash cattle traded lightly in the southern Plains this week at $106/cwt, the U.S. Department of Agriculture reported, even with last week (all figures US$). […] Read more


File photo of gray wolves howling in British Columbia. (Pac9012/iStock/Getty Images)

U.S. lifts federal protections for gray wolf

Reuters — The Trump administration in the U.S. said Thursday said it will lift Endangered Species Act protections for the gray wolf, arguing the species had been brought back successfully from the brink of extinction. The move gives states in the continuous United States the authority to manage their local wolf populations, including by allowing […] Read more

CME December 2020 lean hogs, with 20-, 50- and 100-day moving averages. (Barchart)

U.S. livestock: Lean hogs fall on declining wholesale pork prices

Steady beef demand lifts cattle futures

Chicago | Reuters — U.S. lean hog futures fell on Wednesday on weaker wholesale pork prices, while cattle futures advanced on steady beef demand, traders said. The U.S. pork cutout, an indication of wholesale pork prices, fell by $4.31, to $84.52/cwt, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture (all figures US$). Prices eased for pork […] Read more


CME December 2020 live cattle with Bollinger bands (20,2) and 100-day moving average (brown line). (Barchart)

U.S. livestock: Live cattle rebound as trade adjusts to supply shock

Hogs lower, cash market supportive

Chicago | Reuters — U.S. live cattle futures rebounded on Tuesday, as packers kept processing at a higher-than-usual pace, despite a bearish Cattle on Feed report, traders said. Meanwhile, hog futures eased slightly on Tuesday, as falling cutout prices have carved into packer margins, traders said. CME December live cattle futures gained 0.65 cent to […] Read more

(Photo courtesy Canada Beef Inc.)

Klassen: Feeder market grinds lower

'Is there no grain in this country?'

Compared to last week, prices for western Canadian yearlings weighing over 900 lbs. were down $4-$8 on average; yearlings weighing between 800-900 lbs. were down $2-$4; calves under 800 lbs. were down $8-$12, with the exception of Manitoba, where lighter calves traded $3-$5 below week-ago levels. Feedlot operators are asking, is there no grain in […] Read more


It is important to figure out the economics of backgrounding 
calves for your operation.

Backgrounding calves is an option

Important to look at the economics to make sure

Recently, I asked a local beef producer of a 200-head cow herd what she planned to do with her spring calves after they were weaned. She said that in late October, her son brings all cows and calves home from pasture, weans them, retains two dozen replacement heifers and trucks the rest to a feedlot […] Read more