The number of cattle in feedlots of 1,000 or more in the primary feeding provinces of Alberta and Saskatchewan remain below last year and the previous five-year average. According to the Livestock Marketing Information Center reporting CanFax data, which is delayed to the public on its official web site, the number of cattle populating the … Read More

Commodity funds, or managed money, increased their net long live cattle position for the fifth straight week during the week ended Tuesday to its largest position in more than a year. The Commodity Futures Trading Commission said in its weekly Commitments of Traders report Friday that commercial traders, those who actually own or handle the … Read More

Debate rages over the USDA’s Grain Inspection, Packers and Stockyards Administration’s announced update in regulations that “protects the rights of farmers.” Proponents of the rules say they are long overdue, especially in the chicken industry where many feel they have been the victim of chicken company, or integrator, retaliation for a variety of things. Opponents … Read More

Live cattle futures have held their rally that started with the Thursday, Oct. 13, low of $97.80 per cwt, and the market seems to want to add more bullishness into the equation, that is, if the US dollar will cooperate. Many market analysts in October and through November kept advising scale-up hedge selling by cattle … Read More

For cow/calf producers, 2016 will go down as a tough, tough year as calf prices in many cases have not covered the cost of feed, labor, management and investment.  Some are beginning to wonder if what has been a growing US cattle herd could turn suddenly into a declining herd. That could be a reason … Read More

The US Labor Department said US unemployment fell to 4.6% in the latest report.  Whether or not that’s actually true, it begs the question — will beef demand get a boost? asked Nevil Speer, Vice President of US operations of AgriClear Inc., in his latest article in Beef magazine. Speer’s edited comments are used with … Read More

As if supplies weren’t already more than ample, the USDA Friday raised its estimated 2016 total red meat and poultry production from the November report. In its December World Agricultural Supply and Demand Estimates report, the USDA estimated total red meat and poultry production to 97.517 billion pounds, up 4 million, or 0.004%,  from 97.513 … Read More