Editor's Note: Late Sunday Olymel and its unionized employees came to an agreement in principle. Olymel announced it would delay a cut of the evening shift until Wednesday, September 1, pending a vote on the agreement. A four-month long strike at a Quebec Olymel plant is set to continue, as Friday morning the union representing... Read More
Category: Livestock
Drought this year has been a leading news item for several months. A run-up in cattle sales seem to be uncharacteristically large in volume for the time of year, but are there factors other than drought that are driving producers to forward sell? "The drought really forced the issue this year and I think that... Read More
A protracted labour dispute at a Quebec Olymel hog processing plant has resulted in the company announcing a "significant" reduction in activities at the Vallée-Jonction hog slaughterhouse and cutting plant. Olymel says it has assessed every option and weighed "the concerns and uncertainty that this strike continues to cause for the plant's supplies and deliveries... Read More
As of August 20, 2021, Singapore has approved the Canadian Food Inspection Agency's (CFIA) certificate for the export of all beef, including beef offal, with no age restrictions. The change makes Singapore the first country to remove remaining Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (BSE) trade restrictions, following the World Organization for Animal Health (OIE) recognizing Canada as... Read More
Canadian pork production is increasingly in demand around the world, which is why the Canadian Pork Council (CPC) is committing to policies that will support a value chain that supports growth, in the upcoming federal election. Rick Bergmann, CPC chair says that Canadian pork producers work hard every day to provide high quality, nutritious, affordable,... Read More
Starting this week's episode of the Beef Market Update with Anne Wasko of the Gateway Livestock Exchange, is some positivity when it comes to trading fat cattle in both the U.S. and Western Canada. In the southern U.S., the fats are trading around the $122 mark, with the northern states around the $126-$128 mark, says... Read More
In gearing up for Hay West, the question has been asked, why not cows east? It's an important question to ask. After all, one load of cattle to Ontario, Quebec, or the Atlantic provinces saves sending several truck loads of hay west. There's no shortage of easterners wanting to send "extra" feed west, but much... Read More
Forage and hay production this year has been challenging, and livestock producers in much of the Northern Great Plains and the western half of North America are looking for alternative forage resources and feeding strategies. Zach Carlson, extension beef specialist at North Dakota State University, is looking at options for producers who might have canola... Read More
The federal government has approved $500 million for drought and wildfire relief programs under the AgriRecovery framework, just hours before the launch of the federal election campaign on Sunday. The total includes the previously-announced $100 million. “We thank Minister Bibeau for attaining further funding to help beef farmers and ranchers dealing with widespread severe drought... Read More
Canadian Cattlemen's Association (CCA) executive vice president Dennis Laycraft's recent trip to the National Cattlemen's Beef Association (NCBA) convention in Nashville was a busy week. To start, Laycraft met with new leaders of organizations that frequent the convention, who were really appreciative that CCA made the effort to get down there. On Laycraft's agenda of... Read More