File photo outside Cargill’s beef slaughter and packing plant at High River, Alta. on May 6, 2020. (Photo: Reuters/Todd Korol)

Cargill serves lockout notice on High River workers

Company 'willing to keep meeting' after offer rejected

Updated — Whether in a strike or a lockout, workers at one of Canada’s biggest beef slaughter plants took another step toward the picket line this week by voting to reject the company’s latest contract offer. A vote conducted Tuesday and Wednesday by the United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW) Local 401 went to the […] Read more

(Dave Bedard photo)

High River beef plant workers to vote on Cargill offer

UFCW bargaining committee is recommending nay

Workers on the verge of striking at Cargill’s major beef cattle slaughter plant at High River, Alta. will vote this week on a new contract offer from the company. However, the union bargaining committee for the workers, represented by the United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW) Local 401, is recommending employees vote against the proposal. […] Read more


A Western blot analysis, used to detect specific proteins in tissue samples, is used to confirm BSE in cattle. (Peggy Greb photo courtesy ARS/USDA)

Brazil plays down BSE risk in suspect cases in people

Sao Paulo/Rio de Janeiro | Reuters — Brazil’s agriculture ministry said that two cases reported on Thursday of a neurodegenerative disorder in patients in Rio de Janeiro state were not related to beef consumption, tamping down fears of possible BSE causing human illness. Federal biomedical institute Fiocruz, which is investigating the possibility of bovine spongiform […] Read more

File photo of a steak sandwich with chimichurri sauce at a street food market in Buenos Aires. (Aleksandr_Vorobev/iStock/Getty Images)

Argentina extends beef export cap, stoking farm tensions

Move seen as 'giving markets to other countries'

Buenos Aires | Reuters — Argentina extended beef export restrictions until the end of October on Tuesday, stoking tensions with the powerful farm sector as the government seeks to bolster domestic meat supply to help contain rising food prices. The move comes months before key mid-term elections, with centre-left President Alberto Fernandez keen to avoid […] Read more


(Photo courtesy Canada Beef Inc.)

Klassen: Stronger live cattle futures lift yearling market

Recent rains rejuvenate Prairie pastures

Compared to last week, western Canadian yearling prices were quoted $3 to as much as $6 higher; calf markets once again traded $3-$5 on either side of unchanged depending on the region. Unbridled buying interest was noted on larger groups of high-quality yearlings. Despite the grass conditions this summer, cattle characteristics are rated above average […] Read more

(Dave Bedard photo)

StatsCan sees higher cattle, hog inventories at July 1

Full impacts of West's drought not yet counted

Nationwide head counts of livestock from the “early stages” of Western Canada’s ongoing drought won’t yet show the weather’s full impact, but showed slightly larger herds heading into this summer compared to last year. Statistics Canada on Monday reported the first year-over-year increase in the size of the country’s cattle herd as of July 1 […] Read more


(Valerie Loiseleux/iStock/Getty Images)

‘Time is ticking’ on drought response for beef cattle sector

'We need answers like yesterday'

As Canada’s beef farmers and ranchers face drought, industry leaders are trying to find ways to secure feed and help those forced to sell rebuild their herds. B.C. ranchers are dealing with high temperatures that have “parched the grass that was there,” Kevin Boone, general manager of B.C. Cattlemen’s Association, said during a Canadian Cattlemen’s […] Read more

Drought stressed grain crops like this barley may not be worth combining, but they can be used as livestock feed. It is always important to have feed tested to determine its nutrient value.

Salvaged crops can fit into beef rations

Canola hay can make good feed, but a feed analysis is a must

With what appears to be a dry spring shaping up, it never hurts for beef producers to be prepared in case forage production is in short supply any year. In drought years it’s often hard to locate an adequate forage supply for cattle. Sometimes producers use alternative feeds, which might include drought-stressed or salvaged crops. […] Read more


Strip steak with mushrooms. (Photo courtesy Canada Beef Inc.)

Beef trade gap seen growing as U.K. pact clears Parliament

Interim post-Brexit trade deal gets royal assent

Canada’s beef cattle producers are warning of a growing beef trade deficit, not only between Canada and the European Union but between Canada and the United Kingdom, as a new stopgap U.K. trade pact nears its launch. International Trade Minister Mary Ng on Friday announced Canada is ratifying the Canada-U.K. Trade Continuity Agreement (TCA), after […] Read more

Nelson Fagan Jr. greets 10 Charolais cows at his ranch near Conception Bay South in October. (N. Fagan Meats video screengrab via Facebook)

Newfoundland beef producers backed to develop abattoirs

Three proposals get six figures each; breeding cows also provided

A provincial call for proposals to boost beef slaughter capacity in Newfoundland and Labrador has yielded three successful applicants. The provincial government on Nov. 5 announced its Beef Industry Enhancement Initiative will provide just over $1.8 million in total to its three successful proposals: $719,750 for Troy Humber of Northern Arm, about 40 km northeast […] Read more