Livestock & Production Tips

CME July 2019 lean hogs with 20-, 50- and 100-day moving averages. (Barchart)

U.S. livestock: Nearby lean hogs drop on continued herd expansion

By GFM Network News June 28, 2019

Chicago | Reuters — Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) lean hog futures were mixed on Friday, with nearby contracts pressured by plentiful supplies of hogs and pork and deferred months buoyed by signs of a slowing multi-year U.S. hog herd expansion, traders said. Actively traded nearby contracts posted steep declines after the U.S. Department of Agriculture […] Read more

Cattleman’s Corner, Livestock

May moisture welcome after very dry April

Eppich News: Seeding has started, but need moisture to make it grow

By Heather Eppich June 28, 2019

April was dry. There was almost no moisture the entire month. In the middle of April the guys were madly dashing about working summerfallow and I got L J — the four-year-old colt I started last year — going again. On April 19 there was a fire in a yard a few miles north of […] Read more

CME August 2019 lean hogs with 20-, 50- and 100-day moving averages. (Barchart)

Livestock, Markets, Reuters

U.S. livestock: Hogs up before USDA confirms herd expansion

By GFM Network News June 27, 2019

Chicago | Reuters — Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) lean hog futures rallied on Thursday on short-covering and position squaring near the end of the month and quarter after prices hit multi-month lows earlier this week, traders said. Investors also squared bets ahead of the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) quarterly hog and pig supply report, […] Read more

As producers begin to market certified hormone-free cattle to EU and other markets, a better system is needed to provide the certification.

Beef Cattle, Cattleman’s Corner, Livestock

Suggestions for streamlining cattle exports

Technicians could handle some of the tests and paperwork now done by vets

By Roy Lewis June 26, 2019

Progress generally makes things easier and more efficient but this has not been the case with CFIA veterinary accreditation and the processes for testing and getting approval to export cattle. As a result, many veterinarians — especially those approaching retirement — are letting their CFIA accreditation expire. I now hear of a real shortage of […] Read more

Chef Jonathan Collins cuts up a pork leg, foot included, to prepare ginger and black vinegar hog trotters in a video for Canada Pork International. (Video screengrab from CanadaPork.com)

Hogs, Livestock, Markets, Reuters

China’s shutout of Canadian meat scrambles global pork flow

By Rod Nickel, GFM Network News June 26, 2019

Winnipeg | Reuters — China’s decision to block imports of Canadian meat has set off a global chain reaction in pork trading but it will do little to curb overall demand as a disease ravaging the Chinese hog herd elevates prices, industry experts say. China said on Tuesday it wants the Canadian government to temporarily […] Read more

Federal International Trade Diversification Minister Jim Carr speaks at the China-Canada economic and financial strategy dialogue in Beijing on Nov. 12, 2018. (Photo: Reuters/Jason Lee/Pool)

Beef Cattle, Hogs, Livestock, Reuters

Canada says bogus certificates being used to smuggle meat into China

By GFM Network News June 26, 2019

Ottawa | Reuters — Unknown actors are using bogus certificates to smuggle Canadian meat into China, Trade Minister Jim Carr said on Wednesday, a day after Beijing halted beef and pork imports citing falsified paperwork. China, which has already blocked imports of Canadian canola seed and product from three pork plants, said on Tuesday it […] Read more

File photo of cattle on Prince Edward Island. (COSPV/iStock/Getty Images)

Beef Cattle, Dairy Cattle, Livestock

P.E.I. to manage deadstock removal

By GFM Network News June 26, 2019

Prince Edward Island’s latest provincial operating budget calls for its agriculture and land department to directly manage removal of deadstock for dairy and beef cattle producers. Finance Minister Darlene Compton’s 2019-20 operating budget, presented Tuesday, said the province will take over management of the deadstock contract “to reduce the administrative burden placed on the dairy […] Read more

Livestock, Markets, Reuters

China halts Canadian meat shipments over bogus documents

By Rod Nickel, GFM Network News June 25, 2019

Ottawa | Reuters — China said Tuesday it will turn away all meat shipped from Canada, just days before China and the United States sit down to work on settling a trade dispute that has also caught Canada in the crossfire. China launched an investigation after inspections found residues of ractopamine, a feed additive not […] Read more

Livestock, Poultry/Eggs, Reuters

U.S. launches criminal probe into alleged chicken price fixing by Tyson, rivals

By Reuters, GFM Network News June 25, 2019

Reuters — The U.S. Department of Justice has begun a criminal probe into allegations that Tyson Foods and other poultry processors including Pilgrim’s Pride and Sanderson Farms colluded to fix poultry prices, court documents show. The DOJ filed a motion to intervene and stay discovery of evidence in an antitrust lawsuit involving the companies and […] Read more

Finishers, Livestock, Markets

Klassen: Fed cattle bounce supports yearling market

By Jerry Klassen, GFM Network News June 25, 2019

Compared to last week, western Canadian yearling prices were relatively unchanged while calf values were extremely variable. In Alberta, calf prices were holding value but in Saskatchewan and Manitoba, feeder cattle under 650 lbs. were $3 to as much as $8 lower in some cases. Recent rains in Saskatchewan have come too late and auction […] Read more

GFM Network News

U.S. livestock: Feeder cattle hit contract highs on tight supply

U.S. grains: Soybeans tumble on doubts over U.S.-China trade progress

Alberta harvest wrapping up: report

Livestock