The argument against allowing the U.K. into the CPTPP centres on their one-sided non-tariff trade barriers applied to Canadian meat.

Cattle producers need to support CCA on ‘a bad deal’

UK should be kept out of trade agreement until it accepts Canadian meat products

Editor’s note: Earlier this year it was announced that the Canadian government was considering a plan for the United Kingdom to join a major international trade agreement known as the Comprehensive Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP). The move has raised the ire of the Canadian meat industry, which has been angry for years over […] Read more

(Dave Bedard photo)

FCC to offer beef heifer replacement loans

Loan program for those wanting to build, maintain herds

Cattle producers wanting to expand or maintain herds — in a time of nationwide herd contraction — are the expected beneficiaries for a new loan program from Farm Credit Canada. FCC on Tuesday announced what it calls the Replacement Heifer Program, consisting of a loan with a maximum loan life of seven years and a […] Read more


CME December 2023 live cattle with 20- and 50-day moving averages. (Barchart)

U.S. livestock: CME cattle futures rise on supply concerns

Chicago lean hogs slump

Chicago | Reuters — Chicago Mercantile Exchange cattle futures firmed on Tuesday, amid ongoing concern over animal weights shrinking and a steady stream of heifers being sent to slaughter, traders said. Rising cash cattle prices also gave the beef market a boost on the day, traders said. The U.S. Department of Agriculture said meat processors […] Read more

CME December 2023 lean hogs with 20-, 50- and 100-day moving averages. (Barchart)

U.S. livestock: CME hog, cattle futures decline

Pigs seen bulking up on new-crop corn

Chicago | Reuters — Chicago Mercantile Exchange livestock markets weakened on Monday, with lean hog futures nearing their lowest price in more than four months. Concerns about lacklustre demand for U.S. pork continued to hang over the market, analysts said. Seasonally, hog futures also tend to decline around this time of year as pigs fatten […] Read more


CME December 2023 live cattle with 20- and 50-day moving averages and ICE December 2023 Brent crude (black line, left column). (Barchart)

U.S. livestock: Cattle retreat as energy rally dents beef demand outlook

Lean hog futures mostly also lower

Chicago | Reuters — Chicago Mercantile Exchange cattle futures fell on Friday as traders banked profits and squared positions ahead of the weekend as geopolitical turmoil riled energy markets and stoked concerns about beef demand. Crude oil rallied more than five per cent on Friday on the escalating Middle East conflict as the Israeli military […] Read more

With the calf market becoming more defined as the fall run moves into high gear,  mixed steers averaging 500 pounds are readily trading in the range of $415-$425/cwt across the prairies.

There’s a hint of U.S. beef herd expansion

Market Update with Jerry Klassen: Short supplies and consumer demand keep cattle prices near historical highs

As of late September, Alberta packers were buying fed cattle on a dressed basis at an average price of $390/cwt delivered. Live prices f.o.b. southern Alberta feedlot were quoted in the range of $230-$232/cwt. Fed cattle prices were relatively unchanged from 30 days earlier. Market-ready supplies are down from a year ago on both sides […] Read more


CME December 2023 live cattle with 30-, 40- and 50-day moving averages. (Barchart)

U.S. livestock: CME cattle, hogs rise on technical buying

USDA supply data seen as priced into market

Chicago | Reuters — Chicago Mercantile Exchange cattle futures rose on Thursday as technical buyers stepped into the market after prices weakened earlier in the session. Traders said the massive supplies reported by the U.S. Agriculture Department have been priced in and speculators were likely to buy any dip in the market at current levels. […] Read more

File photo of a case of lumpy skin disease in Bangladesh. (Md Babul Hosen/iStock/Getty Images)

Australia buys vaccines for lumpy skin disease to safeguard cattle exports

Recent scares halted some live export trade

Canberra | Reuters — The Australian government said on Wednesday it had bought a supply of vaccines for lumpy skin disease (LSD), a highly infectious condition affecting cattle, as part of efforts to control the disease and maintain live animal exports. The government says Australia is free of LSD but infection scares in recent months […] Read more


File photo of moose in a Saskatchewan field. (BobLoblaw/iStock/Getty Images)

Saskatchewan expands wildlife testing to include bovine TB

CFIA probe of cattle herd finds 10 infected so far

Recent confirmed cases of bovine tuberculosis (TB) in a Saskatchewan cattle herd have led the province to expand its annual wildlife monitoring program for chronic wasting disease (CWD) to also include TB. The province each year since 1997 has asked hunters to submit heads from harvested deer, moose and elk to test for CWD. It […] Read more

CME December 2023 live cattle with 20-, 50- and 100-day moving averages. (Barchart)

U.S. livestock: Chicago cattle turn higher

CME lean hogs mostly lower

Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) cattle futures turned solidly higher Wednesday while lean hogs mostly continued lower. Most-active December live cattle closed 1.975 cents higher Wednesday at 186.975 cents/lb., erasing two days’ losses, but not before touching a one-month low of 184.25 (all figures US$). Both front-month October 2023 and February 2024 turned 1.925 cents higher, […] Read more