Hog Markets Start 2018 On Positive Note

 

The director of risk management with Hams Marketing Services says most of the forward hog contracts were at or near contract highs to start the new year.

 

"We're a shade lower than what we would have been for the forward contract prices this time last year, given the fact that we're dealing with a significantly larger supply and there's some questions on demand," he said. "I think we're in pretty good shape. It definitely represents good profitability for producers for most of the year."

 

Fulton adds U.S. cash markets are expected to trade near steady in the post-holiday period.

 

"We're just coming off of the two short holiday slaughter weeks, which typically has a bit of a negative implication on cash prices, but producers were very current going into the holiday period. Their hog weights indicated that they were not behind in their marketings, and packers were very aggressive in sourcing those hogs. In fact, we saw likely the two biggest hog slaughters that we have ever seen in the two weeks leading up to Christmas."

 

Video: Special Considerations for Grazing Sheep

Presented by Christine O'Reilly

Many Canadian grazing recommendations were developed using beef cattle in the prairies. While we have adapted these the forage species and climate in Ontario, other livestock have different needs. Public enemy number one for grazing sheep are gastrointestinal parasites.

The purpose of the Profitable Pasture conference is to bring fresh ideas and new research results to Ontario grazing managers across the ruminant livestock sectors. These conferences have a major focus on pasture management.