2023 Cattle and hog outlook update: feed costs and demand strength lead profit uncertainty

Aug 01, 2023

This is the second quarterly update to our 2023 Outlook for cattle and hogs published in February. Over the last two weeks, we updated our Outlooks for dairy and major crops.

Prices for fed steers in Ontario and Alberta have continued to gain since our May outlook update. Our forecasts for each price category are also higher year-over-year (YoY) and significantly higher than their respective five-year averages. Prices for live hogs have similarly improved since May except for Manitoba feeder hogs and isoweans, bringing some relief to eastern producers. However, they’ve not yet returned to the levels we had initially forecasted in February.

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Video: WARNING! Rough Start To Breeding Season!!

WARNING! Sheep Breeding Season Begins With A Bang! Breeding season is officially underway at Ewetopia Farms, but it didn’t exactly start the way we planned!

This vlog begins with us sorting through our rams to find the perfect match for a customer’s breeding program. What should have been routine quickly turned dangerous when one of our more nervous rams panicked. In seconds, Arnie’s knee was injured, and then I was slammed hard onto the concrete floor — both of us taken down by one ram!

Thankfully, it was just bruises, but it’s a reminder of how unpredictable and powerful mature rams can be. Once we recovered, it was time to get back to the real work — the start of breeding season.

We sorted the ewes into four breeding groups (two Suffolk and two Dorset), checking parentage as they ran through the chute, deworming those that needed it, and setting aside thinner ewes for session two of breeding season in a month’s time.This staggered approach keeps lambing organized and prevents overcrowding in the barns.

From rogue rams to the excitement of new breeding groups, this episode is full of action. Stay tuned for the next vlog, where we’ll share how we chose the rams for each group!