Canada’s beef cow numbers and slaughter activity will see contraction continue in 2019 but with the pace mitigated by reduced cow slaughter, growth in the calf crop and increased import activity, according to a report by USDA Foreign Agricultural Service Staff. The staff, part of the Global Agricultural Information Network, said, the Canadian swine industry … Read More

The USDA’s National Agricultural Statistics Service Friday said the total amount of red meat in US cold storage on Feb. 28 was up about 2%, while total poultry stocks were about steady, with a year ago. Specifically, total red meat in the nation’s freezers came to 1.140 billion pounds, up 20.0 million, or 1.79%, from … Read More

After trimming their collective net long live cattle futures positions for a week, large commodity investment funds resumed their four-month-long buying trend during the week ended Tuesday, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission said Friday. The CFTC revealed the net long position of those funds, called managed money in the trade, in its weekly Commitments of … Read More

Grain and feed markets are getting ready for the first initial estimates of how much US acreage will be devoted to each crop, and position evening often is the rule of the day for many. The March 29 USDA Prospective Plantings report will provide that initial indication of potential acreage allotments and set the tone … Read More

The Federal Open Market Committee on Wednesday left the key Federal Funds interest rate at 2.25% to 2.5% and signaled its concerns for the US economy this year. The FOMC raised interest rates by 0.25% three times in 2018 in an attempt to control inflation, which is a by-product of a fast-growing economy.  Raising interest … Read More

The number of cattle on feed in Canadian feedlots is following traditional patterns but at a consistently higher level, according to CanFax, a Canadian market advisory company. CanFax only gathers data from the main cattle-feeding provinces of Alberta and Saskatchewan and disseminates it to its members.  The Denver-based Livestock Marketing Information Center compiles the numbers … Read More

It’s been in the news, but it bears repeating – flooding and the potential for more are threatening or damaging roads, bridges, farms, homes and whole towns in the Central and Northern Plains and western Midwest. Sonja Begemann, Farm Journal seeds and crop production editor, penned a story for AgWeb that lays out the threat … Read More