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Livestock Livestock

CME June 2020 live cattle with 20-, 50- and 100-day moving averages. (Barchart)
Livestock, Markets, Reuters

U.S. livestock: Cattle, hogs slide after three days of gains

"The workers are spooked to come to work"

By
Chicago | Reuters — U.S. cattle and hog futures retreated on Tuesday in a profit-taking setback after three sessions of gains that were fueled by rising meat prices and concerns about meat shortages as several packing plants have closed due to coronavirus infections among workers. Benchmark June lean hog futures corrected after gaining nearly 18 […] Read more
Cattleman’s Corner, Cow-Calf, Livestock

The economists are right

Knowing your cost of production really does make a difference

By
As I write this article we are amid coronavirus and a limit-down cattle market for several days in a row. For the record, I am not admitting the economists were right about this event. But as I am redoing our yearly plan, reassessing our risk strategies and adjusting costs on the fly, I have to […] Read more
File photo of a truck arriving at a Smithfield Foods pork plant at Smithfield, Va. on Oct. 17, 2019. (Photo: Reuters/Tom Polansek)
Hogs, Livestock, Reuters

Smithfield starting to reopen Sioux Falls hog plant, union says

Major plant was shuttered by COVID-19 outbreak

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Chicago | Reuters — Smithfield Foods, the world’s biggest pork processor, resumed limited operations on Monday at a massive South Dakota slaughterhouse it closed last month because of the coronavirus pandemic, the union representing plant employees said. The closure of the plant and other slaughterhouses due to coronavirus cases among employees has led to temporary […] Read more
Asian giant hornets have noticeably large orange heads and black eyes; worker hornets are about 3.5 cm in length; queens can be up to four to five cm in length, with a wingspan of four to seven cm. (B.C. Ministry of Agriculture)
Livestock, Reuters

‘Murder hornet’ findings worry agriculture officials

Invasive pest known to decapitate honeybees, take over hives

By
Reuters — The Asian giant hornet — an invasive, predatory insect dubbed the “murder hornet” — has been seen in the Vancouver area and may pose a threat to the beekeeping industry and potentially to people if it establishes there, a U.S. official said Monday. The stinging Vespa mandarinia can grow as large as 2-1/2 […] Read more
(File photo by Dave Bedard)
Beef Cattle, Livestock

Cargill’s High River plant reopens with two slaughter shifts

Cutting line to resume Wednesday

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Cargill’s southern Alberta beef packing plant, estimated to be responsible for over a third of Canada’s beef processing capacity, restarted Monday after a two-week COVID-19-related shutdown — but at a quicker pace than previously expected. The company said in a statement Monday it is resuming operations at the High River plant “with two shifts” in […] Read more
CME August 2020 feeder cattle with 20-, 50- and 100-day moving averages. (Barchart)
Livestock, Markets, Reuters

U.S. livestock: Cattle, hog futures inch up as plants reopen

Rising wholesale prices support futures

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Chicago | Reuters — U.S. lean hog and live cattle futures closed higher on Monday, as meat processing facilities began to open after closures of more than 20 plants due to coronavirus illnesses among workers. Rising pork and beef cutout prices have also helped give futures a boost on Monday, said Mark Schultz, chief analyst […] Read more
(Nadezhda_Nesterova/iStock/Getty Images)
Livestock, Poultry/Eggs

B.C. health officials order two more poultry plants closed

Over 50 COVID-19 cases found at Superior Poultry

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Health officials in British Columbia’s Fraser Valley have ordered two more poultry processing plant closed after multiple cases of COVID-19 were confirmed among employees. Fraser Health announced April 24 it had ordered Superior Poultry Processors of Coquitlam to close after two employees of the chicken processing plant tested positive for the coronavirus. The health district […] Read more
CME June 2020 live cattle with 20-, 50- and 100-day moving averages. (Barchart)
Livestock, Markets, Reuters

U.S. livestock: Cattle, hog futures climb with wholesale meat prices

About 20 North American meat plants offline

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Chicago | Reuters — U.S. live cattle futures closed higher on Friday after touching a three-week top, buoyed by firm cash cattle values and surging wholesale beef prices as labor shortages slow the U.S. slaughter pace, traders said. New-month buying by speculators may have also lent support, they said. Chicago Mercantile Exchange June live cattle […] Read more
Cattleman’s Corner, Livestock

Defuse the potential for agriculture ‘Madvocacy’

Even with the facts, sometimes it is important to just listen

By
It seems that every day we are inundated with many opinions and ideas on what primary agricultural producers really need to do to improve the environment and serve our many masters. Based strictly on demographics, many of these intentions come from folks with little to no farm involvement or even those with an axe to […] Read more
The cost of pregnancy and depreciation of an animal are two costs people often don’t value enough, says one Montana cattle producer.
Cattleman’s Corner, Cow-Calf, Livestock

Breeding strategies might break the accepted mould

Think about what you're trying to achieve and the best way to get there

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A change in direction for a cow-calf producer’s operation is sometimes required for a wide range of reasons from market shifts to personal finances. To modify breeding strategies or reproductive timelines and tactics, several decisions need to be made. Billy Whitehurst, owner and operator of Makale Livestock in Whitehall, Montana, has been in the cattle […] Read more

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