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

U.S. livestock: Live cattle futures lower on profit-taking

August, October cattle limit down; June hogs also down

Chicago | Reuters — U.S. live cattle futures closed lower on Monday, with some contract months falling their daily three-cent limit on profit-taking amid signs the U.S. meat-packing sector was stepping up beef production, traders said. Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) June live cattle futures settled down 1.975 cents at 92.675 cents/lb., after surging to a […] Read more


Managing ourselves in times of crisis

Managing ourselves in times of crisis

The reality is that we are in uncharted waters

Since my last article was written, the economic situation has deteriorated significantly. Our stock markets have been in freefall with the U.S. market recording its fastest ever 30 per cent decline. I use U.S. market history rather than Canadian because the data is readily available and the United States is the largest, most diversified market […] Read more

(Jiraroj Praditcharoenkul/iStock/Getty Images)

Agri-food tech expected to be a post-pandemic growth industry

Ag, food sectors may seek out more e-commerce, labour-saving tools

Ottawa — A researcher at the University of Guelph says the COVID-19 pandemic will spark agility – particularly related to technology – in agriculture. “(The pandemic) has re-emphasized the need to get access to some of the technology that exists in other sectors and are not easily accessible in agri-food systems,” said Rozita Dara, an […] Read more


[Dave Bedard file photo]

Cargill to shut Montreal-area meat plant temporarily

Company says 64 workers tested positive for COVID-19

Ottawa | Reuters — The Canadian arm of U.S. agribusiness Cargill said Sunday it would soon temporarily shut a Montreal-area case-ready meat plant after 64 workers tested positive for COVID-19. The plant is at Chambly, a South Shore suburb of Montreal, one of the worst hit cities in Canada. Cargill said it was winding down […] Read more

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

U.S. livestock: Cash cattle, futures up on beef packer scrutiny

Profit-taking continues to drag on lean hogs

Chicago | Reuters — U.S. live cattle futures rose on Friday along with cash prices as the federal government probed the beef market. The price of cattle in the cash market has rebounded since U.S. President Donald Trump on Wednesday said he had urged the federal Justice Department to look into allegations that the meatpacking […] Read more


A worker leans on a rack of potted flowers at Sheridan Nurseries in Toronto on May 8, 2020, the first day that garden centres re-opened in Ontario from COVID-19 restrictions. (Photo: Reuters/Chris Helgren)

Canada’s growers look to reopening garden centres to salvage dire year

Ottawa | Reuters — Hard-hit Canadian flower and nursery growers hope a surge in demand from budding gardeners in Ontario, the country’s biggest market, can help the industry avert disaster caused by the coronavirus with retailers reopening on Friday in the populous province. Most non-essential businesses in Canada were shut in mid-March as officials urged […] Read more

(Dave Bedard photo)

Adjustments likely ahead for StatsCan’s early acreage estimates

Projections still in line with grain trade's expectations

MarketsFarm — The results of the first acreage estimates for 2020 from Statistics Canada come with an asterisk, as the COVID-19 pandemic halted data collection early. Canada’s actual seeded area is expected to see some shifts from the projections released Thursday. “As a result of the timing of the COVID-19 pandemic, these estimates were produced […] Read more


A soybean plot in a demonstration field at a past Ag in Motion.  Photo: Lisa Guenther

Ag in Motion outdoor farm show going online instead for 2020

Showrunners plan free 'Ag in Motion Discovery Plus' online event

Glacier FarmMedia’s summer farm show Ag in Motion is coming in from the outdoors to operate in cyberspace for 2020. The event — which was due to run July 21-23 at the Glacier FarmMedia Discovery Farm on Highway 16 west of Langham, Sask., about 40 km northwest of Saskatoon — has been rebranded for 2020 […] Read more

(Photo courtesy Canada Beef Inc.)

Trump asks U.S. Justice Department to look into meat price disparities

Washington | Reuters — U.S. President Donald Trump said on Wednesday he had urged the Justice Department to look into allegations that the meatpacking industry broke antitrust law because the price that slaughterhouses pay farmers for animals had dropped even as meat prices rose. “I’ve asked the Justice Department to look into it. … I’ve […] Read more