This morning I was scanning my news feeds and I stumbled across a tweet from MB Farm Journal. The topic of the tweet was the apparent need for increased cattle slaughter capacity in Manitoba. The discussion in the video was with the candidates in the Manitoba provincial election. They were discussing the apparent need in... Read More
Category: Livestock
The fall of 2011 may prove to be one of the most profitable seasons that the cow-calf producer has seen since the beginning of the last decade. Feeder cattle prices have begun the feeder run in Western Canada on a very hot step. Some will say though that the rancher needs a series of these... Read More
I was driving home tonight thinking about some of the most interesting people that we have interviewed since the RealAgriculture.com started in the fall of 2008. One of the first people that popped into my head was Ian Cummings. Ian is a dairy farmer that moved his dairy farm to the US to avoid the... Read More
As a livestock producer, how many times have you heard, "We need to produce what the consumer wants." That is a simple impactful statement but is not as easy as it sounds. What does the consumer really want in its beef products? Do we know? Does the consumer know? Market research is key to finding... Read More
The Consumer Goods Forum has released a new report on the five trends that are impacting the global retail chain. The five trends were: Economy and Consumer Demand - the challenges of the global economy have significant potential impacts on the demand for goods like red meat. Corporate Responsibility - this includes environment and sustainability... Read More
Margins in the feedyard business are tighter than they have ever been in an extremely volatile market. Fuel is expensive, feed is expensive and the Canadian dollar is high. The beef industry is struggling to stay competitive. "Break even" is a term that holds more weight now than it has the industry's history. With volatility... Read More
When you talk about factors affecting the cattle markets as we head into the feeder run, a number of things emerge. High commodity prices are creating a new normal when it comes to a baseline feeder price. Producers have to get over the initial sticker shock and adjust to the fact that higher feeder prices... Read More
Rising feed prices, expensive oil and a high dollar have made it a difficult time to feed cattle. You can add to that the continued instability in financial markets around the world and it's hard to imagine that our ability to compete hasn't been heavily damaged. There is no doubt that the Canadian industry needs... Read More
The road to economic recovery in Canada is delicate. Growth has been moderate at best, with events around the world adding to that fragility daily. European countries are dealing with high deficits and attempting to balance budgets under the pressure of a frustrated and angry population. In the U.S., the debt ceiling debate, the inability... Read More
By Rosie Templeton A lot of buzz is being created in the blogging world this week over a recent article published by CNN. In their "Eatocracy" section of their website, the article, "Does 4-H desensitize kids to killing?" has elicited over 1300 comments, from both sides of the argument. Read the article here. It's... Read More