(Photo courtesy Canada Beef Inc.)

Klassen: Weaker Canadian dollar supports feeder market

Weather optimal for bringing in fresh replacements

Compared to last week, western Canadian yearlings traded steady to $2 higher on average while calves traded $2 higher to $4 lower. The calf market was hard to define due to limited numbers while larger supplies of yearlings were on offer in Manitoba this past week. Alberta packers were buying fed cattle on a dressed […] Read more

CME October 2022 live cattle (candlesticks) with 20-, 50- and 100-day moving averages (pink, dark red and black lines). (Barchart)

U.S. livestock: CME live cattle mixed

Tight supplies underpin futures

Chicago | Reuters — Chicago Mercantile Exchange live cattle futures were mixed to firmer on Monday, supported by diminished supplies of market-ready cattle that should be reflected in the U.S. Agriculture Department’s monthly Cattle on Feed report, due Friday. “It’s been a slow climb, but it’s also predicated on very large demand,” said Dennis Smith, […] Read more

CME December 2022 live cattle (candlesticks) with Bollinger bands (20,2). (Barchart)

U.S. livestock: CME lean hogs end firmer, live cattle stumble

Feeder cattle futures mixed

Chicago | Reuters — Chicago Mercantile Exchange lean hog futures ended higher on Friday as the market moved up toward cash prices, analysts said. October lean hogs closed 0.85 cent stronger at 96.9 cents/lb. (all figures US$). The contract earlier in the session rose to 96.925 cents, its highest price since Aug. 23. Most-active December […] Read more

The use of genomics in the beef cattle sector could enhance genetic progress similar to what has been realized in the dairy sector.

Beef sector faces genomic roadblocks

Researcher urges industry to make the most of new technology, but producers say it must be worth the time it will require

Glacier FarmMedia – Producers must keep better records in order for the cow-calf industry to use the full potential of genomics to select cattle for desirable traits, says a scientist. “If you’re going to take advantage of any of the new technologies, having a comprehensive individual cow record-keeping system is essential,” said John Basarab, a […] Read more

CME December 2022 lean hogs (candlesticks, right column) with 20-day moving average (brown line) and CME cash lean hog index (pink line, left column). (Barchart)

U.S. livestock: December lean hogs hit four-week high

CME live cattle also finish stronger

Chicago | Reuters — Chicago Mercantile Exchange lean hog futures touched a four-week high on Thursday on technical buying and concerns about tightening supplies, analysts said. Demand from pork processors helped underpin futures as packers’ profit margins improved, a broker said. Margins were estimated to be $2.45 per hog, up from a loss of $4.15 […] Read more


CME October 2022 lean hogs (candlesticks) with 20-, 50- and 100-day moving averages (pink, brown and black lines). (Barchart)

U.S. livestock: Hog futures fall

Cattle futures mixed

Chicago | Reuters — U.S. hog futures fell on Wednesday, turning lower on a round of profit-taking after the most-active December contract hit its highest in more than three weeks early in the trading session. Cattle futures were mixed, with live cattle contracts easing for the second day in a row while feeder cattle futures […] Read more

CME October 2022 live cattle (candlesticks) with 20-, 50- and 100-day moving averages (pink, dark red and black lines). (Barchart)

U.S. livestock: Live cattle futures slip from seven-year peak

Hogs up on technical buying

Chicago | Reuters — Chicago Mercantile Exchange live cattle futures fell after hitting their highest in seven years on Monday. Feeder cattle futures continued to weaken, with the front-month contract dropping to a five-week low, as the prospect of high feeding costs due to strong corn prices pressured the market. Hog futures firmed on technical […] Read more

Clostridium perfringens A, also known as jejunal hemorrhagic syndrome, is primarily a disease seen in dairy cows in Canada and protection is not typically covered by multivalent clostridial vaccines.

Clostridium perfringens a good reason to keep up livestock vaccines

Other common vaccines offer some protection but not against Clostridium perfringens A

In the cattle industry, we don’t pay much attention to the clostridium perfringens group of diseases because most producers vaccinate for it in one form or another. These diseases are covered in the multivalent clostridial vaccines. Also, certain ones are covered in the scours vaccines so calves get protection in the colostrum and then are […] Read more


CME October 2022 lean hogs (candlesticks) with 20-, 50- and 100-day moving averages (pink, brown and black lines). (Barchart)

U.S. livestock: CME lean hog futures weaken

Live cattle futures gain, feeder cattle under pressure

Chicago | Reuters –– Chicago Mercantile Exchange lean hog futures eased on Monday as the U.S. Agriculture Department lifted its forecast for domestic pork production and lowered its price outlook for pigs for this year. The department, in a monthly report, raised its estimate for pork production in the third quarter by 0.9 per cent […] Read more

CME December 2022 live cattle (candlesticks) with 20-, 50- and 100-day moving averages (pink, dark red and black lines). (Barchart)

U.S. livestock: CME live cattle up on demand, tightening supplies

Hogs up on technical bounce

Chicago | Reuters — Chicago Mercantile Exchange live cattle futures rose on Friday in tandem with higher equities and energy markets as a robust slaughter pace and concerns about reduced cattle supplies in the coming months fueled buying. Packers have accelerated their daily slaughter pace following plant downtime around Monday’s Labour Day holiday and they […] Read more