Ontario's beef producer group has asked both beef and dairy producers to hold back cull cows in an attempt to ease the pinch on beef processing capacity during the COVID-19 pandemic. Processing backlogs have plagued the eastern Canadian beef sector for many months due to a lack of sufficient processing capacity and plant closures, says... Read More
Category: Cattle
It's been a difficult last few weeks in the livestock markets, to say the least. For much of the time we are all focused on making the right decision, but what has been weighing heavily on a lot of people lately has been trying not to make the wrong decision. A wrong decision in the... Read More
The reduction in gasoline usage across North America has put a death grip on ethanol producers. Plants have been scaling back production to try and stay solvent as storage capacity fills. Aside from the impact less ethanol production has on corn and utility wheat demand, livestock producers that use distillers' dried grains (DDGs) in feed... Read More
The packing industry is crucial to the entire food value chain in agriculture and, with that, comes the importance of government inspectors. The question is, what happens if these inspectors contract COVID-19 or if they aren't able to work due to the risk of contracting the virus? The issue was highlighted with the partial closure... Read More
It's been an eventful start for the new president of the Canadian Cattlemen's Association (CCA), as Bob Lowe, a rancher from southern Alberta, was elected to lead the national cattle producer group earlier this month. Lowe, who takes over from David Haywood-Farmer, joined us on RealAg Radio on Rural Radio 147 last week to discuss... Read More
The Harmony Beef slaughter plant at Balzac, Alta. halted processing on Friday after an employee who works at the facility tested positive for COVID-19. According to Harmony spokesperson Crosbie Cotton, the company was informed by Alberta Health Services on Thursday that an employee who had not been at work for several days had tested positive.... Read More
Just two short weeks ago, no one was really sure what was ahead for the COVID-19 virus lockdown and social distancing — but now cities are ghost towns, and grocery store shelves and coolers are suspiciously absent of some key items; beef, pork, and chicken among them. A flurry of retail buying may have emptied... Read More
Some of Canada's largest meat processing companies are publicly announcing their COVID-19 response measures in an effort to offer reassurance and transparency to the public and others in the food supply chain. While minimizing the human health risk associated with having a large number of employees working at a single facility is the primary concern,... Read More
The last three years in agriculture have been trying times from a profitability perspective, and through the Commodity Credit Corporation (CCC) American producers have received financial assistance in the form of a direct payment for the past two years. Many policy followers suggested that with 2020 being an election year and the Phase One deal... Read More
Zoetis is introducing long-acting implants to the Canadian market, with options for both finishing and grass cattle. Synovex LA-F and Synovex LA-G are identical to the company's Synovex Choice and Synovex Plus, but with patented coating technology for an up to 200-day effective duration. And while they may be new to Canada, they aren't new... Read More