Just weeks before the World Trade Organization rules on the U.S. government's final appeal to maintain mandatory country of origin labeling (COOL) rules, the U.S. Department of Agriculture issued a report to the House and Senate agriculture committees on Friday saying the meat labeling laws have little, if any, measurable economic benefit. The USDA's economic... Read More
Category: Cattle
When you have livestock, you have scouring stock. Or, at least that’s how it seems some years, when any spare time you thought you might have is spent mixing, smelling and tubing warm electrolytes. In this episode of Ruminating with RealAg (the podcast), we hear about calf scours from Cody Creelman, a large animal veterinarian... Read More
Remember last year, when hog prices spiked and concerns about high bacon prices hit headlines in the mainstream news? For pig producers and processors, those days are distant history, as the North American pork market has since undergone a major reversal. Not wanting to expose consumers to volatility, grocery stores generally lag behind the hog... Read More
The grass is greening up, the calves are hitting the ground and the steaks are about to hit barbeques across North America, even as cattle prices flirt with new record highs. There’s no way around it — it’s a great time to be a cattle producer in Canada. No one begrudges the cattle industry some... Read More
Two major players in the livestock health and nutrition business could soon be on the same team, as Alltech has entered an agreement to acquire Ridley Inc. for C$521 million. "This transformative transaction that combines two industry leaders allows Alltech to deliver better performance and value to livestock and poultry producers across the globe," said... Read More
Cattle markets typically have seasonal high and lows that you can track and capitalize on...except in the last while, when it seems the markets haven't stayed true to the more predictable pattern we've come to expect. With the first quarter of 2015 behind us, cattle markets are flirting with and surpassing record highs, but April... Read More
Ontario beef farmers will now have access to double the individual loan limits under the Ontario Feeder Cattle Loan Guarantee program. For the purchasing of feeder cattle, new members who are enrolled in the program are now able to access a loan for up to $100,000 (an increase of $50,000), and existing members are now... Read More
We’ve all seen it. The gentle rancher who turns Hyde in the face of cattle handling. Sticks or prods come out, and everyone prepares for the yelling that will follow. But what if that rancher could just be his or her gentle self even when working cattle? This past winter, I’ve had the pleasure of... Read More
It's looking more and more like spring in Western Canada, and cattle prices are continuing to impress with seasonal demand, tight supplies and an American dollar hovering around $0.80. In this, the latest episode of the Beef Market Update, Anne Wasko, with Gateway Livestock, talks to RealAgriculture's Lyndsey Smith about prices across the border and... Read More
Maybe it's the return to winter across much of the west, or the very slow melt in eastern Ontario, or the mountains (literally!) of snow out east, but today I found myself looking for the happy side of the Internet. And, dear Real Aggies, the Internet did not disappoint. So, if you're like me and... Read More