Responding to our readers
You’ll notice some changes in this week’s markets and production pages.
In response to reader requests for more news of this kind, we’ve added a page to our production section and have revamped the markets section.
On this page you’ll note hog prices have been removed from the tables and sheep prices added. We aren’t ignoring hog markets, we’ve just moved them to page 16 to allow more information to be displayed.
Before we get to that, the sheep prices displayed on this page are from Canada West Foods in Innisfail, Alta. The company will supply us with slaughter and feeder lamb and sheep prices weekly.
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On page 16 we are now carrying fixed future contract prices from the Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba hog marketing boards. We are also still carrying cash prices and charting their progress, but market advisers are encouraging producers to consider futures contracts as a way to better manage their marketing.
Details about how to use the futures contracts are available from your provincial hog marketing board.
We are including the Chicago Mercantile Exchange lean hog futures prices for comparison.
The livestock report’s new location on page 16 gives us room to include additional information from Canfax’s weekly cattle markets report and other sources such as Manitoba Agriculture’s weekly livestock report.
This should allow us to tell you in more detail why prices are moving in a certain direction.
Turning to production, we have increased the section to three pages from two. You have told us you appreciate hands-on, practical production advice so we are taking the opportunity to include more tips from provincial agriculture departments and public and private research centres.
There will also be a little more room for our New Products feature that highlights developments for field, shop and farm office. Our popular Animal Health column by veterinarian Jeff Grognet will continue to run weekly and Ryan Taylor’s amusing Cowboy Logic still runs every other week.
We recently introduced a monthly column on precision farming by Alberta consultant Greg Reinhardt and will soon re-introduce a monthly organic production column.
Our production stories are not limited to that area. You’ll continue to find interesting and useful production advice throughout the paper.
