I am not surprised by the decision that has been made by the US government to appeal the recent decision by the World Trade Organization. Many American producers and packers were hoping that the government would not appeal but the level of shock should be low. The American Farm Bureau and the NCBA recently passed... Read More
Category: Livestock
The Ontario Government recently announced that they will be ending the relationship of horse racing and slot machines. Some free marketers are cheering the decision and others are weeping for the end of the horse racing business in Ontario. I spoke to several farmers this week and this is definitely a hot button issue. A... Read More
The North American cattle market has been very strong this spring. Without a doubt producers in the U.S. and Canada are nervously waiting to see where the market will go following the peak. Feed grain production, especially corn will have a major influence on the feeder side. The other player continues to be the weather,…Read More
The current beef-trade relationship between the U.S. and Canada is the best it's been in a long time. That's good. We do a lot of business with the U.S. and from a geographical perspective, there is a "convenience factor" that will always keep that relationship somewhat open no matter the issue. However, even with that…Read More
The cattle feeder is in the business of managing cattle feed intake and feed efficiency. It's a make or break venture that operates on getting cattle to convert feed to mass as quickly and efficiently as possible. It's a process that in recent years has had some tight margins associated with it, making feed efficiency…Read More
One of the questions on every producers mind is, "How long can these prices continue?" Looking at the demand side, we don't see any real indication beside the seasonal dips that regularly occur. On the skeptical side however, whenever we have an extended run like this we have a tendency to wait for the other…Read More
With last weeks expected sale of the Viterra Livestock Division to Hi-Pro Feeds LP the feed industry in Canada has changed in Western Canada. Hi-Pro will be owned by Birch Hill Equity Partners and the employees of the company. In the press release Viterra said that the sale was initiated for strategic reasons. Viterra is... Read More
Cattle producers and industry members from the U.S., Canada and beyond gathered at NCBA 2012 to talk about the state of the industry, the triumphs and the challenges. As we look further ahead into 2012, the challenges for the margin operator don't seem to get any easier. In fact, you could say that it looks…Read More
The World Trade Organization's ruling on the country of origin labelling (COOL) legislation brought some small sense of victory to the Canadian beef industry. The excitement over that victory was short-lived however as producers realized that any tangible results stemming from that ruling would be a long way off. The potential for an appeal by…Read More
With over 200 days of travel as the President of NCBA, Bill Donald has been busy. Donald has reign at the top of NCBA at a time that has been very good for Canada / United States trade relations. With Canada shipping fat cattle south and Canada purchasing one billion dollars of US beef in…Read More