The Government of Canada and stakeholders are taking new precautions to help prevent the emergence of Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (HPAI) in Canadian dairy cattle. Late last week, the feds announced intentions to expand its avian flu surveillance by: Requiring negative HPAI test results for lactating dairy cattle being imported from the United States to Canada Conducting enhanced testing of milk at the retail level to look for viral fragments of HPAI and Facilitating the voluntary testing of cows that are not presenting clinical signs of HPAI to facilitate enhanced industry biosecurity e ..read more

For the week ending May 4, Western Canadian feeder cattle prices were quite variable and the market was hard to define. Alberta and certain regions of Saskatchewan received snow, which caused the market to trade $3 to $5 lower. However, in Eastern Saskatchewan and Manitoba, feeder cattle prices were steady to $3 higher. Feedlots in Southern Alberta are once again contending with adverse pen conditions. Therefore, Ontario producers capitalized on this situation, stretching orders across Western Canada. U.S. interest was localized in Saskatchewan and Manitoba. Buyers noted that heifers over 800 ..read more

Chicago | Reuters – Chicago Mercantile Exchange cattle futures ended Monday mixed, after conflicting market signals sent feeder cattle futures lower and nearby live cattle contracts slightly higher. Lean hog futures eased, as market participants wrestled with growing uncertainty over consumer demand for meat as the U.S. enters into the traditional summer grilling season. In CME’s lean hog market, June futures LHM24 closed 0.775 cent lower at 98.175 cents per pound. Earlier in the session, the contract dipped to 97.825 cents per pound, the contract’s lowest since Feb. 21. CME June liv ..read more

Chicago | Reuters – Chicago Mercantile Exchange cattle futures stabilized on Friday after U.S. testing of ground beef samples for H5N1 bird flu fuelled wild swings, but markets still closed lower for the week. Live cattle and feeder cattle futures had rallied on Thursday after the U.S. Department of Agriculture said the samples from retail stores tested negative for the virus. On Wednesday, the markets had tumbled over concerns that a potential positive test would slash consumer demand. The USDA has confirmed bird flu in dairy herds in nine states since late March. Old dairy cattle are often p ..read more

Glacier FarmMedia – Leaders in Canada’s grain industry are praising the Canadian Food Inspection Agency for confirming gene edited crops are safe to use as livestock feed. Today, the Canola Council of Canada, the Canada Grains Council and Cereals Canada “applauded” the CFIA for its new guidance on gene editing. “This is a ground-breaking day for Canadian agriculture as the (CFIA) confirms its livestock feed guidance, marking the final piece in a series of vital policy updates that began in 2018,” said Krista Thomas, vice-president for trade policy and seed innovation with the Canada Grains Cou ..read more

Dairy farmers in Canada remain on guard for signs the virus may have turned up in their herds as mandatory testing for Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (HPAI) came into effect on April 29 for all cattle moving across state boundaries in the United States. So far for the large-animal veterinarians serving southwestern Ontario’s Kirkton Veterinary Clinic, however, there have been no requests to test sick animals, nor any on-fam observations of cattle possibly infected with the virus. Why it matters: HPAI is a reportable disease under federal regulations, most notably due to its status as a “zoo ..read more

The Canadian Food Inspection Agency says its American counterpart has agreed to test lactating cows for the bird flu virus before they cross into Canada. In a brief, emailed statement, the CFIA simply said it had requested testing, and that the U.S. Department of Agriculture had agreed to its request. The testing requirement took effect yesterday. Dairy cows moving between U.S. states must also test negative for the virus. Nine states and have reported infections in 34 herds since the middle of March. Colorado is the latest added to the tally.  The USDA said it has identified spread betwe ..read more

For the week ending April 27, Western Canadian feeder cattle markets were relatively unchanged compared to seven days earlier. Alberta packers were buying fed cattle on a dressed basis in the range of $430-$432/cwt delivered. This compares to $405-$415/cwt on April 5. Alberta pen closeouts are hovering just below breakeven which has been supportive for the feeder market. There are pockets in Western Canada where fleshier calves are coming on stream. Backgrounded heifers also appeared to be fleshier this past week, resulting in a limber demand on 900 pound plus categories. Calves under 600 poun ..read more

Colorado is the latest state to confirm cases of bird flu in a dairy herd, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) said on April 25. Nine states and have reported infections in 34 herds since the middle of March. In a Colorado Department of Agriculture news release, Colorado State University veterinarian Maggie Baldwin said the highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) virus is being spread between both dairy cows and herds. “While we don’t yet completely understand the mechanism of transmission of this virus, we do know that it appears to be spreading from cow to cow and between herds,” she ..read more

When Bill Leask and Mark Olson met at a Lion’s Club meeting about four years ago, Leask was a cow-calf operator with a need and Olson was an information technology expert who could build him a solution. Why it matters: The technology is made for cattle farmers but the company now requires seed money to take the invention into commercial production. That meeting resulted in the development of Flokk Systems, a durable hardware and software solution that can work for people who need to record data in the sometimes harsh weather conditions of the cattle business in Canada. Flokk now has a product ..read more